The Opinion-Policy Nexus in Europe and the Role of Political Institutions
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The Opinion-Policy Nexus in Europe and the Role of Political Institutions. / Rasmussen, Anne; Reher, Stefanie; Toshkov, Dimiter.
I: European Journal of Political Research, Bind 58, Nr. 2, 2019, s. 412-434.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Opinion-Policy Nexus in Europe and the Role of Political Institutions
AU - Rasmussen, Anne
AU - Reher, Stefanie
AU - Toshkov, Dimiter
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - A strong link between citizen preferences and public policy is one of the key goals and criteria of democratic governance. Yet, our knowledge about the extent to which public policies on specific issues are in line with citizen preferences in Europe is limited. This article reports on the first study of the link between public opinion and public policy that covers a large and diverse sample of concrete public policy issues in 31 European democracies. The findings demonstrate a strong positive relationship and a substantial degree of congruence between public opinion and the state of public policy. Also examined is whether political institutions, including electoral systems and the horizontal and vertical division of powers, influence the opinion‐policy link. The evidence for such effects is very limited, which suggests that the same institutions might affect policy representation in countervailing ways through different mechanisms.
AB - A strong link between citizen preferences and public policy is one of the key goals and criteria of democratic governance. Yet, our knowledge about the extent to which public policies on specific issues are in line with citizen preferences in Europe is limited. This article reports on the first study of the link between public opinion and public policy that covers a large and diverse sample of concrete public policy issues in 31 European democracies. The findings demonstrate a strong positive relationship and a substantial degree of congruence between public opinion and the state of public policy. Also examined is whether political institutions, including electoral systems and the horizontal and vertical division of powers, influence the opinion‐policy link. The evidence for such effects is very limited, which suggests that the same institutions might affect policy representation in countervailing ways through different mechanisms.
U2 - 10.1111/1475-6765.12286
DO - 10.1111/1475-6765.12286
M3 - Journal article
VL - 58
SP - 412
EP - 434
JO - European Journal of Political Research
JF - European Journal of Political Research
SN - 0304-4130
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 194115620