Degrees of Democracy Government Institutions and the Opinion-Policy Link

A large and growing body of research demonstrates a correspondence between public opinion and policy behavior. Almost all of this research has focused on the US, however. Do similar patterns obtain in other countries? Or is the US unique? This paper represents one step towards answering these questions. We develop a theoretical model implying differences in representation across countries owing to differences in government institutions. Most importantly, we argue that (1) policymakers are less responsive in parliamentary systems than in Madisonian presidential systems, and (2) public responsiveness to policy change is diminished in federal rather than unitary systems. We then test these propositions, using directly comparable longitudinal measures of public preferences and government spending in the US, UK, and Canada. In the process, we draw conclusions about the success of these countries’ government institutions, and distill broader implications for the functioning of modern democracies. Paper prepared for presentation at the University of Pennsylvania, January, 2008. Portions of this research were presented at 4 General Conference of the European Consortium of Political Research, Pisa, 2007, and the Annual Meetings of the Southwest Political Science Association, Albuquerque 2007, the International Political Science Association, Fukuoka, Japan, June, 2006, the Southwest Political Science Association, Corpus Christi, Texas, March, 2004, the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, August, 2003, the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 2003, the Canadian Political Science Association, Halifax, June 2003, the Political Studies Association, Edinburgh, April 2002, the American Political Science Association, Boston, August-September 2002, the Annual Conference of the Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties Group, Salford, UK, September 2002, and the University of British Columbia, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Indiana University, the Juan March Institute, the University of Mannheim, Queen’s University, Sciences Po Paris (CEVIPOF), and the University of Washington. We are thankful to various audiences and discussants for comments, and especially Kevin Arceneaux, Keith Banting, Frank Baumgartner, John Carey, Chris Carman, Diana Evans, Thomas Gschwend, Peter John, Martin Johnson, Bryan Jones, Mark Kayser, Jose Maria Maravall, Iain McLean, Jose Ramon Montero, Robert Shapiro, Robert Stein, and James Stimson. Related project papers are available online at http://www.degreesofdemocracy.mcgill.ca.