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Party Platforms, Mandates, and Government Spending

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Gary King ,
Michael Laver ,
Richard I. Hofferbert ,
Ian Budge  and
Michael D. McDonald
Gary King
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Michael Laver
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Dublin
Richard I. Hofferbert
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Binghamton
Ian Budge
Affiliation:
University of Essex
Michael D. McDonald
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Binghamton
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Abstract

In their 1990 Review article, Ian Budge and Richard Hofferbert analyzed the relationship between party platform emphases, control of the White House, and national government spending priorities, reporting strong evidence of a “party mandate” connection between them. Gary King and Michael Laver successfully replicate the original analysis, critique the interpretation of the causal effects, and present a reanalysis showing that platforms have small or nonexistent effects on spending. In response, Budge, Hofferbert, and Michael McDonald agree that their language was somewhat inconsistent on both interactions and causality but defend their conceptualization of “mandates” as involving only an association, not necessarily a causal connection, between party commitments and government policy. Hence, while the causes of government policy are of interest, noncausal associations are sufficient as evidence of party mandates in American politics.

Type
Controversies
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 87 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 744 - 750
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1993

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References

Budge, Ian, and Hofferbert, Richard I.. 1990. “Mandates and Policy Outputs: U.S. Party Platforms and Federal Expenditures.” American Political Science Review 84:111–32.Google Scholar
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