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Public Attention, Political Action: the Example of Environmental Regulation

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  • Jens Newig

    (Institute of Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück,Albrechtstr.28,Osnabrück,Germany jens.newig@usf.uni-osnabrueck.de)

Abstract

In this paper, a rational choice model of the dynamics of public attention to politically relevant issues is proposed, responding to the following research questions: When and why does public attention arise in the .rst place? Do ‘issue attention cycles’ really exist? What issues are likely to attain which degree of public attention? How can public attention be measured soundly? In which way does public attention in.uence regulatory action, and how, in turn, is public attention affected by political action? To this end, the paper sets off with a discussion of the concepts of ‘public’, ‘issue’, ‘attention’ and ‘cycle’. Key variables of the causal model include the acuteness/severity and accessibility/visibility of the issue at stake, as well as the ability to ‘solve’ the underlying problem. In an empirical study, several environmental issues and their corresponding regulation in Germany are examined in order to test the theoretical conjectures which could, for the most part, be empirically supported.

Suggested Citation

  • Jens Newig, 2004. "Public Attention, Political Action: the Example of Environmental Regulation," Rationality and Society, , vol. 16(2), pages 149-190, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:16:y:2004:i:2:p:149-190
    DOI: 10.1177/1043463104043713
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. H. Igor Ansoff, 1980. "Strategic issue management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(2), pages 131-148, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Jian & Qiao, Jun & Wu, Wenruo & Sheng, Yan & Su, Jingqi, 2023. "Public attention and analyst visits: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Zhou, Bo & Ding, Hao, 2023. "How public attention drives corporate environmental protection: Effects and channels," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Yingfei He & Guoliang Zhang & Lijuan Chen, 2020. "Analysis of News Coverage of Haze in China in the Context of Sustainable Development: The Case of China Daily," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Ostertag, Katrin & Bodenheimer, Miriam & Neuhäusler, Peter & Helmich, Patricia & Walz, Rainer, 2018. "Organisational innovations, social innovations and societal acceptability in the context of sustainability," Studien zum deutschen Innovationssystem 8-2018, Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI) - Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation, Berlin.
    5. Zhichao Li & Bojia Liu, 2023. "Understanding Carbon Emissions Reduction in China: Perspectives of Political Mobility," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Mohamed M. Mostafa, 2020. "Catastrophe Theory Predicts International Concern for Global Warming," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(3), pages 709-731, September.
    7. Penna, Caetano C.R. & Geels, Frank W., 2015. "Climate change and the slow reorientation of the American car industry (1979–2012): An application and extension of the Dialectic Issue LifeCycle (DILC) model," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1029-1048.
    8. Chen, Hong & Chen, Feiyu & Huang, Xinru & Long, Ruyin & Li, Wenjie, 2017. "Are individuals’ environmental behavior always consistent?—An analysis based on spatial difference," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 25-36.
    9. Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir & C. Michael Hall & Margrét Wendt, 2020. "Overtourism in Iceland: Fantasy or Reality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Geels, Frank W. & Ayoub, Martina, 2023. "A socio-technical transition perspective on positive tipping points in climate change mitigation: Analysing seven interacting feedback loops in offshore wind and electric vehicles acceleration," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Yihong Liu & Rami Hin†yeung Chan, 2018. "The Framework of Crisis†Induced Agenda Setting in China," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 18-33, January.
    12. Shawn Pope & Jonathan Peillex & Imane El Ouadghiri & Mathieu Gomes, 2024. "Floodlight or Spotlight? Public Attention and the Selective Disclosure of Environmental Information," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 1230-1265, June.
    13. Frank W. Geels, 2013. "The Impact of the Financial and Economic Crisis on Sustainability Transitions: Financial Investment, Governance and Public Discourse. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 39," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47014, January.
    14. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Sutherland, Lee-Ann, 2016. "Patterns of attention to renewable energy in the British farming press from 1980 to 2013," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 959-973.
    15. Jiuchang Wei & Wanling Zhan & Xiumei Guo & Dora Marinova, 2017. "Public attention to the great smog event: a case study of the 2013 smog event in Harbin, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 89(2), pages 923-938, November.
    16. Stevens, T.M. & Aarts, N. & Termeer, C.J.A.M. & Dewulf, A., 2018. "Social media hypes about agro-food issues: Activism, scandals and conflicts," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 23-34.
    17. Jin, Sensen & Deng, Feng, 2024. "Impact of public environmental concern on urban-rural economic income inequality," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1131-1143.
    18. Mohamed M. Mostafa, 2016. "Post-materialism, Religiosity, Political Orientation, Locus of Control and Concern for Global Warming: A Multilevel Analysis Across 40 Nations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 1273-1298, September.
    19. Geels, Frank W. & Penna, Caetano C.R., 2015. "Societal problems and industry reorientation: Elaborating the Dialectic Issue LifeCycle (DILC) model and a case study of car safety in the USA (1900–1995)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 67-82.
    20. Fremeth, Adam R. & Holburn, Guy L. F. & Piazza, Alessandro, 2021. "Activist Protest Spillovers into the Regulatory Domain: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. Nuclear Power Generation Industry," OSF Preprints s39h2, Center for Open Science.
    21. Sun, Kunpeng & Wang, Dan & Xiao, Xing, 2022. "Another victory of retail investors: Social media's monitoring role on firms' earnings management," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    22. Platania, Federico & Toscano Hernandez, Celina & Moreno, Manuel & Appio, Francesco, 2023. "The impact of public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).

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