Addition Bias among Policymakers as Driver of Policy Accumulation

The issue of policy accumulation has emerged as a critical concern across diverse policy sectors and governance systems. The continuous addition of new policy elements without reducing or terminating existing ones can lead to increased complexity and reduced policy effectiveness. While previous research has primarily examined policy accumulation from a macro perspective on policy portfolios or outcomes, this paper introduces a micro-level approach. Building on research on ‘addition biases’ and ‘subtraction neglect,’ we explore policymakers’ tendency to favor augmentative over reductionist solutions in problem-solving scenarios. Using a survey experimental design among municipal and state officials, we test how susceptible policymakers are to addition bias when addressing policy problems. Specifically, we employ a subtraction cue and manipulate both the level of conflict and implementation capacity surrounding different policy issues to test our hypotheses. The results provide valuable insights into the current dynamics of policy accumulation and contribute behavioral insights to the research on policy accumulation and termination.