Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T06:13:53.567Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Public Agendas and Policy Agendas in Three Western European Countries: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2018

Andrea Pritoni
Andrea Pritoni*
Affiliation:
Andrea Pritoni, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. Email: andrea.pritoni@sns.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In any democratic system, the question of whether governments pay attention to citizens’ needs and requests represents a crucial component of democratic quality. But what conditions favour this fundamental democratic process? This article compares policy priorities identified by public opinion with the actual legislative production in Italy, Spain and the UK from 2003 to 2012. The article’s methodology is a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) in which causal conditions are represented by politico-institutional and contextual factors, while the outcome consists of the degree of overlap between public opinion priorities and legislation. Empirical analysis shows that there are four paths leading to a correspondence in priorities: first, it is linked to the combination of high government decision-making capacity and declining citizens’ trust in government; second, it is also linked to the combination of rising citizens’ trust and low government decision-making capacity. Third and fourth, priorities also correspond where there is a simultaneous absence of both trust and elections, and in the absence of both decision-making capacity and elections, respectively.

Keywords

comparative politicsdemocracyQCAresponsiveness
Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 371 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2018. Published by Government and Opposition Limited and Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, J, Clark, M, Ezrow, LGlasgow, G (2004) Understanding Change and Stability in Party Ideologies: Do Parties Respond to Public Opinion or to Past Election Results? British Journal of Political Science 34(4), 589–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arcenaux, K, Johnson, M, Lindstädt, RVander Wielen, RJ (2016) The Influence of News Media on Political Elites: Investigating Strategic Responsiveness in Congress. American Journal of Political Science 60(1), 5–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartholomew, DJKnott, M (1999) Latent Variable Models and Factor Analysis. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, FRJones, BD (1993) Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, FR, Green-Pedersen, CJones, BD (2006) Comparative Studies of Policy Agendas. Journal of European Public Policy 13(7), 959–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bevan, SJennings, W (2014) Representation, Agendas and Institutions. European Journal of Political Research 53, 37–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binzer-Hobolt, SKlemmemsen, R (2005) Responsive Government? Public Opinion and Government Policy Preferences in Britain and Denmark. Political Studies 53(3), 379–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blais, ABodet, MA (2006) Does Proportional Representation Foster Closer Congruence Between Citizens and Policy Makers? Comparative Political Studies 39(10), 1243–1262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blumenthal, S (1982) The Permanent Campaign. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Borghetto, E, Carammia, MZucchini, F (2014) The Impact of Party Policy Priorities on Italian Lawmaking from the First to the Second Republic, 1983–2006. In Green-Pedersen C and Walgrave S (eds), Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems: A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 164–182.Google Scholar
Breeman, G, Lowery, D, Poppelaars, C, Resodihardjo, SL, Timmermans, Ade Vries, J (2009) Political Attention in a Coalition System: Analysing Queen’s Speeches in the Netherlands 1945–2007. Acta Politica 44(1), 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaqués Bonafont, LPalau, AM (2011) Assessing the Responsiveness of Spanish Policymakers to the Priorities of their Citizens. West European Politics 34(4), 706–730.10.1080/01402382.2011.572388CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaqués Bonafont, L, Palau, AMBaumgartner, FR (2015) Agenda Dynamics in Spain. London: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/9781137328793CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Converse, PEPierce, R (1986) Political Representation in France. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.10.4159/harvard.9780674187887CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, RJ, Farrell, DMMcAllister, I (2011) Political Parties and Democratic Linkage: How Parties Organize Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esaiasson, PWlezien, C (2017) Advances in the Study of Democratic Responsiveness: An Introduction. Comparative Political Studies 50(6), 699–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ezrow, LHellwig, T (2014) Responding to Voters or Responding to Markets? Political Parties and Public Opinion in an Era of Globalization. International Studies Quarterly 58(4), 816–827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallagher, M (1991) Proportionality, Disproportionality and Electoral Systems. Electoral Studies 10(1), 33–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golder, SN (2010) Bargaining Delays in the Government Formation Process. Comparative Political Studies 43(1), 3–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooghe, L, Marks, GSchakel, AH (2010) The Rise of Regional Authority: A Comparative Study of 42 Countries. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, JDPowell, GB (1994) Congruence Between Citizens and Policy Makers in Two Visions of Liberal Democracy. World Politics 46(3), 291–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, WJohn, P (2009) The Dynamics of Political Attention: Public Opinion and the Queen’s Speech in the United Kingdom. American Journal of Political Science 53(4), 838–854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, WWlezien, C (2011) Distinguishing between Most Important Problems and Issues. Public Opinion Quarterly 7(3), 545–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, P (2006) The Policy Agendas Project: a Review. Journal of European Public Policy 13(7), 975–986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, P, Bertelli, A, Jennings, WBeavan, S (2013) Policy Agendas in British Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, BD (1994) Reconceiving Decision Making in Democratic Politics: Attention, Choice and Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jones, BDBaumgartner, FR (2005) The Politics of Attention. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Klingemann, HD, Volkens, A, Bara, J, Budge, IMcDonald, M (2006) Mapping Policy Preferences II: Estimates for Parties, Electors and Governments in Central and Eastern Europe, European Union and OECD, 1990–2003. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Klüver, HSpoon, JJ (2016) Who Responds? Voters, Parties, and Issue Attention. British Journal of Political Science 46(3), 633–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klüver, HSpoon, JJ (2017) Challenges to Multiparty Governments: How Governing in Coalitions Affects Coalition Parties’ Responsiveness to Voters. Party Politics 23(6), 793–803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindeboom, GJ (2012) Public Priorities in Government’s Hands: Corresponding Policy Agendas in the Netherlands? Acta Politica 47(4), 443–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, A. (2012) Patterns of Democracy, 2nd edn. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lombardi, DMoschella, M (2016) Domestic Preferences and European Banking Supervision: Germany, Italy and the Single Supervisory Mechanism. West European Politics 39(3), 462–482.10.1080/01402382.2016.1143242CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manin, B, Przeworski, AStokes, SC (1999) Elections and Representation. In Przeworski A, Stokes SC and Manin B (eds), Democracy, Accountability and Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 29–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansergh, LThomson, R (2007) Election Pledges, Party Competition, and Policymaking. Comparative Politics 39(3), 311–330.Google Scholar
Maravall, JM (1999) Accountability and Manipulation. In Przeworski A, Stokes SC and Manin B (eds), Democracy, Accountability and Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 154–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, AH (1974) Political Issues and Trust in Government: 1964–1970. American Political Science Review 68(3), 951–972.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, WEStokes, DE (1963) Constituency Influence in Congress. American Political Science Review 57(1), 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monroe, AD (1995) Public Opinion and Public Policy, 1980–1993. Public Opinion Quarterly 62(1), 6–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mortensen, PB, Green-Pedersen, C, Breeman, G, Chaqués Bonafont, L, Jennings, W, John, P, Palau, AMTimmermans, A (2011) Comparing Government Agendas: Executive Speeches in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Denmark. Comparative Political Studies 44(8), 973–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, BIShapiro, RY (1992) The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in American Policy Preferences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, GB (2000) Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Views. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Pritoni, A (2017) Decision-Making Potential and ‘Detailed’ Legislation of Western European Parliamentary Governments (1990–2013). Comparative European Politics 15(2), 157–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ragin, CC (1987) The Comparative Method. Berkeley: University of Berkeley Press.Google Scholar
Ragin, CC (2000) Fuzzy-Set Social Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ragin, CC (2008) Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226702797.001.0001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rihoux, BRagin, CC (eds) (2009) Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques. Los Angeles: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rihoux, B, Alamos-Concha, P, Bol, D, Marx, ARezsöhazy, I (2013) From Niche to Mainstream Method? A Comprehensive Mapping of QCA Application in Journal Articles from 1984 to 2011. Political Research Quarterly 66(1), 175–184.Google Scholar
Scharpf, FW (1999) Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, CQRohlfing, I (2013) Combining QCA and Process Tracing in Set-Theoretic Multi-Method Research. Sociological Methods and Research 42(4), 559–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, CQWagemann, C (2010) Standards of Good Practice in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-Sets. Comparative Sociology 9(3), 397–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, CQWagemann, C (2012) Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soroka, SNWlezien, C (2010) Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spoon, JJKlüver, H (2014) Do Parties Respond? How Electoral Context Influences Party Responsiveness. Electoral Studies 45(1), 38–60.Google Scholar
Tsebelis, G (2002) Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press–Russell Sage Foundation.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagemann, CSchneider, CQ (2010) Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-Sets: Agenda for a Research Approach and a Data Analysis Technique. Comparative Sociology 9(3), 376–396.Google Scholar
Wlezien, C (1995) The Public as Thermostat: Dynamics of Preferences for Spending. American Journal of Political Science 39, 981–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wlezien, C (2004) Patterns of Representation: Dynamics of Public Preferences and Policy. Journal of Politics 66(1), 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wlezien, C (2016) Public Opinion and Policy Representation: On Conceptualization, Measurement, and Interpretation. Policy Studies Journal 45(4), 561–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wlezien, CSoroka, S (2012) Political Institutions and the Opinion–Policy Link. West European Politics 35, 1407–1432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wlezien, CSoroka, S (2016) Public Opinion and Public Policy. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, http://politics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore9780190228637-e-74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Pritoni supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Pritoni supplementary material(File)
File 43 KB