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Same old story with a different ending: Homophily and preferential selection of information within the US climate policy network

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  • Lorien Jasny
  • W Chris Jayko
  • Dana R Fisher

Abstract

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has been perceived as a substantial shift away from the history of more contentious climate politics in the US. We apply social network methods to interrogate an updated dataset that assesses the degree to which recent policy outcomes are a shift away from earlier policies and positions. We empirically test for homophily, a building block of polarisation, analysing four waves of survey data collected over 12 years from the community of political elites engaged in the issue of climate politics. Using Exponential Random Graph (ERG) modeling, we provide clear evidence that the stances of the top policy actors working on climate change have not shifted substantially. Instead, we document how the policy was successful due to its ability to combine the Administration’s desire to support clean energy along with fossil fuel interests’ aims of expanding extraction and profiting from a transition away from fossil fuels.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorien Jasny & W Chris Jayko & Dana R Fisher, 2024. "Same old story with a different ending: Homophily and preferential selection of information within the US climate policy network," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(7), pages 1-11, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0306454
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306454
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barry Rabe, 2007. "Environmental Policy and the Bush Era: The Collision Between the Administrative Presidency and State Experimentation," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 37(3), pages 413-431, Summer.
    2. Dana R. Fisher & Philip Leifeld, 2019. "The polycentricity of climate policy blockage," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 469-487, August.
    3. John E. T. Bistline & Neil R. Mehrotra & Catherine Wolfram, 2023. "Economic Implications of the Climate Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 54(1 (Spring), pages 77-182.
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