An Experimental Test of How Americans Think about Federalism

The dominant perspective on federalism and American public opinion suggests that Americans simply do not consider federalism when making policy evaluations. Recently, however, several scholars have argued that even if Americans do not make legalistic or theoretical references to federalism, they often think intuitively about intergovernmental politics. This study presents the results of a three-part survey experiment designed to assess how readily individuals come to think about federalism when evaluating public policy. In general, individuals do not consider the intergovernmental implications of policy, even when asked to explicitly compare two levels of government. Overwhelmingly, individual preference for government activity obscures concerns for federalism in eight of nine substantive policy domains. Yet, this indeterminacy does not mean that public opinion is irrelevant for studies of American federalism. Rather, it is a highly malleable instrument that political elites can use to leverage public support for policies.