Why Estimates of the Impact of Public Opinion on Public Policy are Too High: Empirical and Theoretical Implications.

Statistical studies often show public opinion strongly affecting public policy. But the studies may overestimate the effect because they focus on issues — those especially important to the public — on which governments are most likely to be responsive. This article considers what the opinion-policy...

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Publicado en:Social Forces (University of North Carolina Press) Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 2273 - 2290
Autor principal: Burstein, Paul
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / UK June 2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      aug:
        au: Burstein, Paul
      su:
        Public opinion
        Government policy
        Public opinion polls
        United States
      sug:
        subj:
          United States
          Public opinion
          Government policy
          Public opinion polls
      ab: Statistical studies often show public opinion strongly affecting public policy. But the studies may overestimate the effect because they focus on issues — those especially important to the public — on which governments are most likely to be responsive. This article considers what the opinion-policy linkage would be if less-important issues were also considered, by examining a random sample of proposals addressed by the U.S. Congress. Opinion has considerably less impact in the random sample than in the statistical studies. But this does not mean that the public is being defeated by special interests. On many issues, the public has no meaningful opinions; organized interests, therefore, can win without the public losing. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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