Dear all,
We are organising a panel on Public Opinion and Public Policy in the netx IPSA Conference (Montreal, July 2014). We encourage you to submit an abstract. Dealine: October 7th. Submissions online at:
http://ipsa.org/events/congress/montreal2014/submit-abstractpaper-proposal
Warm regards,
Inés Calzada
Public policy and Public opinion. Old problems, new approaches
Chair: Dr. Antonio M. Jaime
Co-Chair: Dr. Ines Calzada
Discussants: Dr. Eloisa Del Pino
Public opinion regarding public policies has been widely studied since the 80’s.
Many progresses have been done, but some of the old problems persist. First, our knowledge about the scaffolds that people use to elaborate opinions to public policies is rather modest. The coexistence of the “self-interest” and “ideological” approaches has been fruitful, but studies seem to have reached a dead-end, and most of the variance in individuals’ attitudes is yet to be explained. Secondly, the eternal dilemma over public opinion as cause or effect of public policies, that has plagued research on the relationship between public institutions and public opinion, is still alive and well. Finally, we have some methodological issues that need to be addressed. Quantitative methodology has taken over the area and lead to the (quasi) disappearance of qualitative studies. Is this movement helping the advance of knowledge? On a technical level, data availability has increased at a faster pace than reflection on methods, and a direct translation to survey data of methods devised for other fields (such as the new Experimental Economics) have caused contradictory results.
The aim of this section is to serve as a forum for scholars on public opinion to public policies. To re-analyse old problems with fresh approaches, share new results and, foremost, think where we are and where we should be going.
Language:
English
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