Article contents
Economic ‘Stagflation’ and Public Support for the Political System
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2009
Extract
Declining trust in politicians and political institutions is one of the most dramatic and well-documented trends in American public opinion. Confidence in religious, educational and other institutions has also waned, but emphasis has focused on diminished political trust, both because it may summarize a wide range of diffuse grievances and because it might indicate an increased potential for disruptive action, political violence and instability. In the decade from 1968 to 1978, the level of political trust (measured by the conventional five-item CPS/NES index) was halved, the proportion of the public expressing moderate or high levels of trust falling from 64 to 33 per cent. The greatest decline in the index level (a drop of 14 points) occurred between 1972 and 1974.
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984
References
1 Easton, David, A Systems Analysis of Political Life (New York: Wiley, 1965), pp. 171–219.Google Scholar
2 Muller, Edward N., ‘An Explanatory Model for Different Types of Political Participation’, European Journal of Political Research, X (1982), 1–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Jukam, Thomas O., and Muller, Edward N., ‘Political Support in the United States’, paper prepared for the annual meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, Pittsburgh, 04 1979Google Scholar; Miller, Warren E. and Jukam, Thomas O., ‘On the Meaning of Political Support’, American Political Science Review, LXXI (1977), 1561–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Miller, Arthur, Goldenburg, Edie N. and Erbring, Lutz, ‘Type-set Politics: Impact of Newspapers on Public Confidence’, American Political Science Review, LXXIII (1979), 67–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Miller, Arthur, ‘Political Issues and Trust in Government: 1964–1970’, American Political Science Review, LXVIII (1974), 951–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Miller, Arthur, ‘Rejoinder to Comment by Jack Citrin: Political Discontent or Ritualism’, American Political Science Review, LXVIII (1974), 989–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3 Fiorina, Morris P., Retrospective Voting (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981).Google Scholar
4 Caddell, Patrick, ‘Crisis of Confidence I – Trapped in a Downward Spiral’, Public Opinion, 11 (1979), 9Google Scholar; Miller, et al. , ‘Type-set Polities’, pp. 67–84.Google Scholar
5 Abramson, Paul R. and Finifter, Ada W., ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust: New Evidence from Items Introduced in 1978’, American Journal of Political Science, XXV (1981), 297–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6 Miller, , ‘Political Issues and Trust in Government’ pp. 951–72Google Scholar; and Miller, , ‘Rejoinder to Comment by Jack Citrin’, pp. 989–1001.Google Scholar
7 Miller, Warren E., Miller, Arthur, Raine, Alden F. and Brown, Thad, ‘A Majority Party in Disarray’, American Political Science Review, LXX (1976), 753–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8 Citrin, Jack, ‘Comment: the Political Relevance of Trust in Government’, American Political Science Review, LXVIII (1974), 973–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9 Stein, Herbert, The Fiscal Revolution in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969)Google Scholar; and Stigler, George, ‘General Economic Conditions and National Elections’, American Economic Review, LXIV (1973), 160–7.Google Scholar
10 Keech, William, ‘Elections and Macroeconomic Policy Optimization’, American Journal of Political Science, XXIV (1980), 345–67CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hibbs, Douglas R. Jr., ‘Political Parties and Macroeconomic Policy’, American Political Science Review, LXXI (1977), 1467–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Frey, Bruno S., Modern Political Economy (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1979).Google Scholar
11 Tufte, Edward R., Political Control of the Economy (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978).Google Scholar
12 Citrin, Jack, McClosky, Herbert, Shanks, J. Merrill and Sniderman, Paul M., ‘Personal and Political Sources of Political Alienation’, British Journal of Political Science, V (1975), 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13 Page, Benjamin and Jones, Calvin, ‘Reciprocal Effects of Policy Preferences, Party Loyalties and the Vote’, American Political Science Review, LXXIII (1979), 1071–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Kiewiet, Roderick D., Macroeconomics and Micropolitics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982).Google Scholar
14 Kessler, Ronald C. and Greenberg, David F., Linear Panel Analysis (New York: Academic Press, 1981), pp. 65–8Google Scholar; Kenny, David A., Correlation and Causality (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1979), Chap. 12.Google Scholar
15 Hart, Vivian, Distrust and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978).Google Scholar
16 Sniderman, Paul M., A Question of Loyally (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981).Google Scholar
17 Citrin, . ‘Comment: the Political Relevance of Trust in Government’.Google Scholar
18 Jukam, Abraham and Muller, Edward N., ‘Political Support in the United States’, paper prepared for the annual meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, Pittsburgh (04 1979).Google Scholar
19 Kaplan, Abraham, The Conduct of Inquiry (New York: Free Press, 1962).Google Scholar
20 Katona, George, Psychological Economics (New York: Elsevier, 1975).Google Scholar
21 Abramson, and Finifter, , ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust’.Google Scholar
22 Sniderman, , A Question of LoyaltyGoogle Scholar; Miller, , ‘Political Issues and Trust in Government’Google Scholar; Converse, Philip E., ‘The Nature of Belief Systems Mass Publics’, in Apter, David E., ed., Ideology and Discontent (New York: Free Press, 1964).Google Scholar
23 Easton, , A Systems Analysis of Political LifeGoogle Scholar; Easton, David, ‘A Re-assessment of the Concept of Political Support’, British Journal of Political Science, V (1975), 435–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24 Easton, , ‘A Re-assessment of the Concept of Political Support’Google Scholar; Muller, Edward N., ‘The Representation of Citizens by Political Authorities: Consequences for Regime Support’, American Political Science Review, LXIV (1970), 1149–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Citrin, et al. , ‘Personal and Political Sources of Political Alienation’Google Scholar; Citrin, , ‘Comment: the Political Relevance of Trust in Goverment’Google Scholar; Sears, David O. and Whitney, R. E., ‘Political Persuasion’, in de Sola Pool, Ithiel, Schramm, W., Maccoby, N., Parker, E. B. and Frey, F. W., eds, Handbook of Communication (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1973), pp. 253–89.Google Scholar
25 Douglas, James, ‘The Overloaded Crown’, British Journal of Political Science, VI (1976), 483–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26 Kernell, Samuel, ‘Explaining Presidential Popularity’, American Political Science Review, LXXII (1978), 506–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Abramson, and Finifter, , ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust’.Google Scholar
27 Sniderman, Paul M., Neuman, W. Russell, Citrin, Jack, McClosky, Herbert, Shanks, J. Merrill, ‘Stability of Support for the Political System: the Initial Impact of Watergate’, American Politics Quarterly, 111 (1975), 437–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28 Citrin, et al. , ‘Personal and Political Sources of Political Alienation’.Google Scholar
29 Citrin, et al. , ‘Personal and Political Sources of Political Alienation’, p. 443.Google Scholar
30 Entman, R. M., Prothro, James W. and Sharp, E. F., ‘Watergate and Political Trust: a Panel Study’, mimeo: Institute for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University (1974).Google Scholar
31 Citrin, et al. , ‘Personal and Political Sources of Political Alienation’Google Scholar; Miller, , ‘Political Issues and Trust in Government’.Google Scholar
32 Abramson, and Finifter, , ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust’.Google Scholar
33 Jacobson, Gary C. and Kernell, Samuel, Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981).Google Scholar
34 Kiewiet, , Macroeconomics and Micropolitics.Google Scholar
35 Duncan, Otis Dudley, Introduction to Structural Equation Models (New York: Academic Press, 1975)Google Scholar; Kenny, , Correlation and Causality.Google Scholar
36 Kenny, , Correlation and Causality, Chap. 3.Google Scholar
37 Sniderman, et al. , ‘Stability of Support for the Political System’.Google Scholar
38 Rosenberg, Morris, The Logic of Survey Analysis (New York: Basic Books, 1968).Google Scholar
39 Wheaton, Blair, Muthen, B., Alwin, D. F. and Summers, G. F., ‘Assessing Reliability and Stability in Panel Models’, in Heise, D. R., ed., Sociological Methodology (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1977), pp. 84–136.Google Scholar
40 Chubb, John E., ‘Multiple Indicators and Measurement Error in Panel Data’, Political Methodology, V (1978), 413–44.Google Scholar
41 Abramson, and Finifter, , ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust’.Google Scholar
42 Campbell, Donald T. and Fiske, D. W., ‘Convergent and Discriminant Validation by the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix’, Psychological Bulletin, LVI (1959), 81–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
43 Miller, , ‘Political Issues and Trust in Government’Google Scholar; Miller, , ‘Rejoinder to Comment by Jack Citrin’Google Scholar; Citrin, , ‘Comment: the Political Relevance of Trust in Government’.Google Scholar
44 Crewe, Ivor, ‘Voting Participation’, in Ranney, Austin, Penniman, Howard and Butler, David, eds, Democracy at the Polls (New York: American Enterprise Institute, 1980).Google Scholar
45 Schacht, Richard, Alienation (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970)Google Scholar; Finifter, Ada W., ‘Dimensions of Alienation’, American Political Science Review, LXIV (1970), 389–410CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Easton, , A Systems Analysis of Political LifeGoogle Scholar; Easton, , ‘A Re-assessment of the Concept of Political Support’Google Scholar; Citrin, , ‘Comment: the Political Relevance of Trust in Government’Google Scholar; Sniderman, , A Question of Loyalty.Google Scholar
46 Abramson, and Finifter, , ‘On the Meaning of Political Trust’.Google Scholar
- 67
- Cited by