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Beyond Positive and Negative: New Perspectives on Feedback Effects in Public Opinion on the Welfare State

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  • Busemeyer, Marius R
  • Abrassart, Aurélien
  • Nezi, Roula

Abstract

The study of policy feedback on public attitudes and policy preferences has become a growing area of research in recent years. Scholars in the tradition of Pierson usually argue that positive, self-reinforcing feedback effects dominate (that is, attitudes are commensurate with existing institutions), whereas the public thermostat model developed by Wlezien and Soroka expects negative, self-undermining feedback. Moving beyond the blunt distinction between positive and negative feedback, this article develops and proposes a more fine-grained typology of feedback effects that distinguishes between accelerating, self-reinforcing and self-undermining, specific and general, as well as long- and short-term dynamic feedback. The authors apply this typology in an analysis of public opinion on government spending in different areas of the welfare state for twenty-one OECD countries, employing a pseudo-panel approach. The empirical analysis confirms the usefulness of this typology since it shows that different types of feedback effects can be observed empirically.

Suggested Citation

  • Busemeyer, Marius R & Abrassart, Aurélien & Nezi, Roula, 2021. "Beyond Positive and Negative: New Perspectives on Feedback Effects in Public Opinion on the Welfare State," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 137-162, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:51:y:2021:i:1:p:137-162_9
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    Cited by:

    1. Eick, Gianna Maria, 2023. "Welfare Euroscepticism and Socioeconomic Status," SocArXiv cvzh5, Center for Open Science.
    2. Martino Maggetti & Philipp Trein, 2022. "Policy integration, problem-solving, and the coronavirus disease crisis: lessons for policy design [Neglected challenges to evidence-based policy-making: The problem of policy accumulation]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(1), pages 53-67.
    3. Maurice Dunaiski & Janne Tukiainen, 2023. "Does income transparency affect support for redistribution? Evidence from Finland's tax day," Discussion Papers 159, Aboa Centre for Economics.
    4. Hongzhi Ma & Yexi Zhong & Minghui Ou & Wenhui Wang & Xinghua Feng, 2022. "The Transformation of Fishermen’s Livelihoods in the Context of a Comprehensive Fishing Ban: A Case Study of Datang Village at the Poyang Lake Region, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.

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