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How do different sources of policy analysis affect policy preferences? Experimental evidence from the United States

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  • Grant D. Jacobsen

    (University of Oregon)

Abstract

Analysis of policy options is often unavailable or only available from non-governmental research organizations (“think tanks”) that may have explicit or implicit political biases. This paper experimentally examines how voters respond to policy analysis and how the response varies when the analysis is produced by a nonpartisan organization versus a liberal or conservative organization. The key result is that individuals, on average, are responsive to all types of analysis, but most strongly responsive to analysis produced by nonpartisan organizations. Analysis from an ideologically slanted organization is less effective because individuals tend to ignore analysis that is produced by a partisan organization that does not share their own ideology. The results suggest that increasing the amount of information that the public receives based on nonpartisan analysis may increase the diffusion of information on policy features into the public and reduce polarization in public opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Grant D. Jacobsen, 2019. "How do different sources of policy analysis affect policy preferences? Experimental evidence from the United States," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(3), pages 315-342, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:52:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11077-019-09353-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-019-09353-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Johannes Wohlfart, 2023. "Designing Information Provision Experiments," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 3-40, March.
    2. Darya Korlyakova, 2021. "Learning about Ethnic Discrimination from Different Information Sources," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp689, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Jacobsen, Grant D., 2020. "Market-based policies, public opinion, and information," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    4. Jingjing Zeng & Guihua Huang, 2024. "Bureaucratic biases in trust of expert policy advice: a randomized controlled experiment based on Chinese think tank reports," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 57(2), pages 305-351, June.
    5. Irvin Renee & Sokolowski Jes, 2020. "Think Tank Soldiers in the Battle for Tax Reform," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Carolyn Fischer & Grant D. Jacobsen, 2021. "Political Viability, Market‐Based Standards, And Climate Policy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(3), pages 1002-1005, June.

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