scholarly journals How to measure public demand for policies when there is no appropriate survey data?

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Oehl ◽  
Lena Maria Schaffer ◽  
Thomas Bernauer
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Explanatory Models ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Search Data ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Demand

AbstractExplanatory models accounting for variation in policy choices by democratic governments usually include a demand (by the public) and a supply (by the government) component, whereas the latter component is usually better developed from a measurement viewpoint. The main reason is that public opinion surveys, the standard approach to measuring public demand, are expensive, difficult to implement simultaneously for different countries for purposes of crossnational comparison and impossible to implementex postfor purposes of longitudinal analysis if survey data for past time periods are lacking. We therefore propose a new approach to measuring public demand, focussing on political claims made by nongovernmental actors and expressed in the news. To demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of our measure ofpublished opinion, we focus on climate policy in the time period between 1995 and 2010. When comparing the new measure of published opinion with the best available public opinion survey and internet search data, it turns out that our data can serve as a meaningful proxy for public demand.

Popular versus Elite Views of Privatization: The Case of Britain

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McAllister ◽  
Donley T. Studlar
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Government ◽  
Privatization Policy

ABSTRACTPrivatization is an idea that is popular among political elites throughout the advanced industrial world. In Britain, it has been the centrepiece of Margaret Thatcher's three Conservative governments, reflected in the sale of publicly-owned industries to the private sector and in the sale of council houses to their tenants. Using survey data, this article tests two models to account for privatization policy. The median voter model argues that it was a policy demanded and initiated by voters, while the elite interests model argues that it stemmed from the government and that little popular demand existed for it. The evidence confirms the elite interests model and shows that public opinion has generally accepted the status quo on the public ownership of industry. In addition, the Conservatives have made modest electoral gains from privatization. However, voters are not consistent in their views about privatizating particular industries, implying the Conservatives may lose votes with future privatization.

Public Opinion Research in Government

1949 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 564-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold F. Gosnell ◽  
Moyca C. David
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Social Scientist ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Public Opinion Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
The Government ◽  
Radio Programs

The actual use of polling techniques by the federal government falls far short of what one eminent social scientist, Julian L. Woodward, foresees for the future. He says: “Sooner or later, the government itself will have to go into the polling field and provide both its administrators and its legislators with adequate and sound information on what the public thinks. Eventually this sort of information will become as necessary as census data and will be provided by an agency with a reputation for unbiased research equal to that now enjoyed by the present Census Bureau.”While the potentialities of public opinion research in the government have only begun to be exploited, administrators and even legislators, who characteristically have been more hostile toward polling, have found methods of testing public opinion answerable to their needs. In accord with their purposes, they have used public opinion surveys to sample a small group of leaders, a large group, or the total population. They have been concerned also with content analysis of the press and of radio programs. The usefulness of attitude surveys was established particularly during the war and has continued since in a somewhat lesser degree.

Issue ownership, unemployment and support for government intervention

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tor G Jakobsen ◽  
Ola Listhaug
Keyword(s):  
Government Intervention ◽  
Issue Ownership ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Social Survey Programme ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Government ◽  
International Social ◽  
Public Demand

In this article an examination is made of the association between unemployment and public demand for government intervention in the economy. The main hypothesis is drawn from the theory of issue ownership: public opinion is likely to shift to the left in times of high unemployment combined with a leftist government. Research on issue ownership has typically focused on case studies of particular countries. We extend the discussion to a much larger setting. Relying on data from the International Social Survey Programme from 23 OECD countries in the time period 1985–2007 we find a combined effect of issue ownership and agenda setting. An increase in unemployment leads the public to hold more leftist economic opinions when the government belongs to the left. However, ownership of an issue cannot be guaranteed to last if a party fails to deliver outcomes that are promised and expected from its historical legacy.

Mexico insecurity to weigh on AMLO approval

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Electoral Campaign ◽  
Presidential Popularity ◽  
The Government

Subject Presidential popularity. Significance Several public opinion surveys published this month show President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO)’s approval ratings to have fallen to their lowest levels since he took office in 2018. The polls suggest public disapproval has doubled or even tripled in some cases, particularly among Mexico’s most educated. While interviewees across the board acknowledge that the government has done much to ease poverty and support vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the polls also show respondents to be critical of its handling of issues that were at the centre of AMLO’s electoral campaign, such as corruption and security. Impacts AMLO’s relaxed attitude towards COVID-19 will play increasingly badly with the public and potentially with members of his own government. Declining support will not necessarily see AMLO ousted in the 2022 recall referendum -- he is still more trusted than other politicians. The falling popularity of Morena will not necessarily boost support for other parties, whose shares of voting intentions remain low.

Has Anyone Seen It?

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Radin ◽  
Aleksandar Džakula
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sentiment ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Health Care Performance ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Care Performance

Over the past decade, public opinion surveys have shown that Croats are deeply dissatisfied with their health care system and asses it to be one of the most important issues. However, health care hardly makes it into any political discourse in Croatia. This study analyzes the results of a public opinion survey conducted before the 2007 parliamentary elections to find out what the public sentiment on health care performance in Croatia is and to analyze the reasons why health care is not addressed by political actors. Evidence suggests that while health care is the most salient issue today, the public often understands it poorly. Thus, in a political environment of competing issues, and given the complexity of tacking health care in the policy arena, politicians strategically avoid discussing the issue.

How Voters Respond to Currency Crises: Evidence From Turkey

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110602
Author(s):  
David A. Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Currency Crises ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Economic Situation ◽  
Financial Shocks ◽  
The Government ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
And Migration

A burgeoning literature shows that international trade and migration shocks influence individuals’ political attitudes, but relatively little is known about how international financial shocks impact public opinion. This study examines how one prevalent type of international financial shock—currency crises—shapes mass political attitudes. I argue that currency crises reduce average citizens’ support for incumbent governments. I also expect voters’ concerns about their own pocketbooks to influence their response to currency crises. Original survey data from Turkey support these arguments. Exploiting exogenous variation in the currency’s value during the survey window, I show that currency depreciations strongly reduce support for the government. This effect is stronger among individuals that are more negatively affected by depreciation, and it is moderated by individuals’ perceptions of their personal economic situation. This evidence suggests that international financial shocks can strongly influence the opinions of average voters, and it provides further support for pocketbook theories.

scholarly journals E-LEARNING ACCESSIBILITY IN STATE-OWNED SCHOOLS IN NORTH BALI

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Wicaksana Gede Dharma Arya ◽  
Dewi Ni Putu Febriana
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Government ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

This study aimed at investigating the implementation of e-learning in one of government non-favourite schools in Singaraja. This study was the result of the real implementationof e-learning in Bali in which the government expected e-learning to be applicable in every school in Bali since the launching of Balinese version of E-learning 2017. This research was a descriptive qualitative research. This study used snowball sampling in which the public opinion was counted. The data were collected by using observation and interview guide. The result of the study showed that the implementation of e-learning was not running well and became a serious problem. Some sollutions were offered in this study.

scholarly journals Public Opinion and Public Policy in Advanced Democracies

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Wlezien
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The Government

The representation of public opinion in public policy is of obvious importance in representative democracies. While public opinion is important in all political systems, it is especially true where voters elect politicians; after all, opinion representation is a primary justification for representative democracy. Not surprisingly, a lot of research addresses the connection between the public and the government. Much of the work considers “descriptive representation”—whether the partisan and demographic characteristics of elected politicians match the characteristics of the electorate itself. This descriptive representation is important but may not produce actual “substantive representation” of preferences in policy. Other work examines the positions of policymakers. Some of this research assesses the roll call voting behavior of politicians and institutions. The expressed positions and voting behavior of political actors do relate to policy but are not the same things. Fortunately, a good amount of research analyzes policy. With but a handful of exceptions noted below, this research focuses on expressed preferences of the public, not their “interests.” That is, virtually all scholars let people be the judges of their own interests, and they assess the representation of expressed opinion no matter how contrary to self-interest it may seem.

Political Attitudes of China’s Post-1980s Generation

2017 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Wei SHAN
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
The Government

The political attitudes of the post-1980s generation in China are important for understanding the country’s political future. Public opinion surveys reveal the post-1980s group as the least nationalistic and more sceptical of the government than the older generations. They show little interest in politics despite their confidence of participating in public issues. In the long term, Beijing will have to face a society led by the more critical and less obedient post-1980s.

Public Opinion and Foreign Electoral Intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 856-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL TOMZ ◽  
JESSICA L. P. WEEKS
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Demand

Foreign electoral intervention is an increasingly important tool for influencing politics in other countries, yet we know little about when citizens would tolerate or condemn foreign efforts to sway elections. In this article, we use experiments to study American public reactions to revelations of foreign electoral intervention. We find that even modest forms of intervention polarize the public along partisan lines. Americans are more likely to condemn foreign involvement, lose faith in democracy, and seek retaliation when a foreign power sides with the opposition, than when a foreign power aids their own party. At the same time, Americans reject military responses to electoral attacks on the United States, even when their own political party is targeted. Our findings suggest that electoral interference can divide and weaken an adversary without provoking the level of public demand for retaliation typically triggered by conventional military attacks.

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