Opinion–Policy Dynamics: Public Preferences and Public Expenditure in the United Kingdom

• Published in: British journal of political science Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 665 - 689
• Main Authors: SOROKA, STUART N., WLEZIEN, CHRISTOPHER
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2005
• Subjects: Abortion; Defense; Defense policy; Defense spending; Expenditures; Government Spending; Health care economics; International relations; Misery index; Modeling; Policy analysis; Policy making; Political representation; Political science; Political Systems; Politics; Preferences; Public debt; Public expenditure; Public Opinion; Public Policy; Research Article; Sociology; Spending; U.S.A; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0007-1234; 1469-2112
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007123405000347

Work exploring the relationship between public opinion and public policy over time has largely been restricted to the United States. A wider application of this line of research can provide insights into how representation varies across political systems, however. This article takes a first step in this direction using a new body of data on public opinion and government spending in Britain. The results of analyses reveal that the British public appears to notice and respond (thermostatically) to changes in public spending in particular domains, perhaps even more so than in the United States. They also reveal that British policymakers represent these preferences in spending, though the magnitude and structure of this response is less pronounced and more general. The findings are suggestive about the structuring role of institutions.