Class 3: Determinants of Social Policy II Flashcards
(12 cards)
Zacher: What does it mean that “Americans want something for nothing”?
General ideas that Americans want material benefits from the government, but do not want tax increases to pay for it
Zacher: In which way does Zacher measure support for social policies that differ from the usual way to measure it?
Usually, preferences to benefits and costs are measured separately, but Zacher presents respondents with “bundles” that include both the benefit of the policy and the cost to avoid overestimating support levels for redistribution
Zacher: Research methods, incl. IV and DV
Survey experiment using cost-benefit policy bundles in 2022-2023 in US
IV: Policy cost-benefit combinations
DV: 0-100 support for each policy proposal
Zacher: What are the two main findings about Americans’ policy preferences?
- Voter preferences for policy benefits are sensitive to the costs -> Americans prefer policy bundles where the wealthy fund the policies
- Affluent voters report significantly less support for redistribution than middle- and lower-income Americans -> gap esp. big amongst Republicans, but also somewhat among Democrats
Zacher: Are Americans in general pro-redistribution?
Yes - all proposals to raise taxes on millionaires received majority support! But support drops significantly if redistribution is funded by general tax increases rather than targeted the rich
Zacher: Given that many of the policies that received support in the survey have not been implemented, what does Zacher conclude from that?
Indicates that political elites are more responsive to the preferences of affluent constituents, who generally prefer lower redistribution levels
Zacher: Which redistributive benefits were generally most popular?
Universal programs like children’s education, public transport, and renewable energy
Mettler, Jacobs & Zhu: What is policy feedback?
Policies, once adopted, reshape how citizens experience government programs or regulations which in turn affects their political attitudes and participation
Mettler, Jacobs & Zhu: How do they add to policy feedback theory?
They expand it to include partisanship because it its big influence on social identity and political choices. It creates a new political context for policy feedback in the US
Mettler, Jacobs & Zhu: What is policy threat?
The political conditions that exist when the opponents of a policy, who have targeted it for repeal or weakening, gain control of the law-making institutions and therefore have the power to attempt to carry through on their plans
Mettler, Jacobs & Zhu: What are their expectations regarding how polarization and policy threat interact?
Low pol, low threat: Policy feedback occurs solely by policy design
Low pol, high threat: Policy feedback occurs and is strengthened (social security 1980s)
High pol, low threat: Partisanship prevails, overriding feedback effect (ACA early years)
High pol, high threat: Policy feedback occurs and overrides partisanship amongst opponents while strengthening it among supporters (ACA 2018)
Mettler, Jacobs & Zhu: When both polarization and policy threat are high, through which two mechanisms will policy feedback effects be accentuated?
Salience: Threat induces people to notice or appreciate the policy more than previously
Loss aversion: The prospect of losing benefits evokes a stronger reaction from people than gaining them in the first place
