IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/policy/v55y2022i2d10.1007_s11077-022-09458-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stability and change in the public’s policy agenda: a punctuated equilibrium approach

Author

Listed:
  • Tevfik Murat Yildirim

    (University of Stavanger)

Abstract

Much research within the punctuated equilibrium framework demonstrated that policy agendas are invariably punctuated, due in part to cognitive and institutional frictions that constitute barriers to change in attention. While the bulk of past scholarship explored the extent to which institutional friction varies by organizational design, little scholarly attention has been devoted to the empirical examination of the cognitive aspect of disproportionate information processing. In an attempt to close this gap, I utilize a newly available dataset that codes nearly a million Americans’ responses to the ‘most important problem’ question from 1939 to 2015 to analyze the distribution of annual changes in the policy priorities of the American public. Drawing on the punctuated equilibrium theory literature, I argue and show that punctuations in the public’s policy priorities are more severe and frequent than those in institutional agendas. These results emphasize the need for a more subtle treatment of disproportionate information processing within the public, calling for relaxing the implicit assumption that cognitive friction is constant within organizations and across issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Tevfik Murat Yildirim, 2022. "Stability and change in the public’s policy agenda: a punctuated equilibrium approach," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 55(2), pages 337-350, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:55:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11077-022-09458-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-022-09458-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11077-022-09458-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11077-022-09458-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefaan Walgrave & Michiel Nuytemans, 2009. "Friction and Party Manifesto Change in 25 Countries, 1945–98," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(1), pages 190-206, January.
    2. Jennings, Will & Wlezien, Christopher, 2015. "Preferences, Problems and Representation," Political Science Research and Methods, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(3), pages 659-681, September.
    3. Padgett, John F., 1980. "Bounded Rationality in Budgetary Research," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(2), pages 354-372, June.
    4. Jones, Bryan D. & Sulkin, Tracy & Larsen, Heather A., 2003. "Policy Punctuations in American Political Institutions," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(1), pages 151-169, February.
    5. Zaller, John, 1991. "Information, Values, and Opinion," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(4), pages 1215-1237, December.
    6. Magnus Lundgren & Theresa Squatrito & Jonas Tallberg, 2018. "Stability and change in international policy-making: A punctuated equilibrium approach," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 547-572, December.
    7. Breunig, Christian & Jones, Bryan D., 2011. "Stochastic Process Methods with an Application to Budgetary Data," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 103-117, January.
    8. Flink, Carla M. & Robinson, Scott E., 2020. "Corrective policy reactions: positive and negative budgetary punctuations," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(1), pages 96-115, March.
    9. Frank R. Baumgartner & Christian Breunig & Christoffer Green‐Pedersen & Bryan D. Jones & Peter B. Mortensen & Michiel Nuytemans & Stefaan Walgrave, 2009. "Punctuated Equilibrium in Comparative Perspective," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 603-620, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Inke Torfs & Ellen Wayenberg & Lieselot Danneels, 2023. "Institutional shifts and punctuated patterns in digital policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(3), pages 363-388, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Inke Torfs & Ellen Wayenberg & Lieselot Danneels, 2023. "Institutional shifts and punctuated patterns in digital policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(3), pages 363-388, May.
    2. Travis Sharp, 2019. "Wars, presidents, and punctuated equilibriums in US defense spending," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(3), pages 367-396, September.
    3. Wordliczek Lukasz, 2021. "Between incrementalism and punctuated equilibrium: the case of budget in Poland, 1995–2018," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 15(2), pages 14-30, December.
    4. Bryan D. Jones & Frank R. Baumgartner & Christian Breunig & Christopher Wlezien & Stuart Soroka & Martial Foucault & Abel François & Christoffer Green‐Pedersen & Chris Koski & Peter John & Peter B. Mo, 2009. "A General Empirical Law of Public Budgets: A Comparative Analysis," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 855-873, October.
    5. Marie H. Martin & Meg Streams, 2015. "Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: An Empirical Investigation of Its Relevance for Global Health Expenditure," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 73-94, March.
    6. Louis-Robert Beaulieu-Guay & Maria Alejandra Costa & Éric Montpetit, 2023. "Policy change and information search: a test of the politics of information using regulatory data," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(2), pages 377-418, June.
    7. Magnus Lundgren & Theresa Squatrito & Jonas Tallberg, 2018. "Stability and change in international policy-making: A punctuated equilibrium approach," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 547-572, December.
    8. Kwan Nok Chan & Shiwei Fan, 2021. "Friction and bureaucratic control in authoritarian regimes," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1406-1418, October.
    9. Tracey Bark, 2021. "Information provision as agenda setting: A study of bureaucracy's role in higher education policy," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 408-427, April.
    10. Mukdad Ibrahim, 2016. "Bounded Rationality and Budgeting," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(4), pages 755-760.
    11. Nick Ellison & Paula Blomqvist & Timo Fleckenstein, 2022. "Covid (in)equalities: labor market protection, health, and residential care in Germany, Sweden, and the UK [Punctuated equilibrium in comparative perspective]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(2), pages 247-259.
    12. Lepori, Benedetto & Montauti, Martina, 2020. "Bringing the organization back in: Flexing structural responses to competing logics in budgeting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Vaclav Vlcek, 2023. "Who cares about the UN General Assembly? National delegations size from 1993 to 2016," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(2), pages 349-360, May.
    14. Kjell Hausken & Jun Zhuang, 2011. "Governments' and Terrorists' Defense and Attack in a T -Period Game," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 8(1), pages 46-70, March.
    15. Bernard GROFMAN & Joseph GODFREY, 2014. "Aspiration Models of Committee Decision Making," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2014-04-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.
    16. Manuele Citi, 2015. "European Union budget politics: Explaining stability and change in spending allocations," European Union Politics, , vol. 16(2), pages 260-280, June.
    17. Delshad, Ashlie B. & Raymond, Leigh & Sawicki, Vanessa & Wegener, Duane T., 2010. "Public attitudes toward political and technological options for biofuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3414-3425, July.
    18. Lin, Wanlin & Lin, George C.S., 2023. "Strategizing actors and agents in the functioning of informal property Rights: The tragicomedy of the extralegal housing market in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    19. Maria J. Debre & Hylke Dijkstra, 2023. "Are international organisations in decline? An absolute and relative perspective on institutional change," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(1), pages 16-30, February.
    20. Michael Givel, 2010. "The Evolution of the Theoretical Foundations of Punctuated Equilibrium Theory in Public Policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 27(2), pages 187-198, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:55:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11077-022-09458-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.