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Effects of Public Opinion on Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Benjamin I. Page  and
Robert Y. Shapiro
Benjamin I. Page
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Robert Y. Shapiro
Affiliation:
Columbia University The National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago
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Abstract

The responsiveness of government policies to citizens' preferences is a central concern of various normative and empirical theories of democracy. Examining public opinion and policy data for the United States from 1935 to 1979, we find considerable congruence between changes in preferences and in policies, especially for large, stable opinion changes on salient issues. We present evidence that pubic opinion is often a proximate cause of policy, affecting policy more than policy influences opinion. One should be cautious, however, about concluding that democratic responsiveness pervades American politics.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , March 1983 , pp. 175 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1983

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