Statehouse Democracy by Robert S. Erikson, Gerald C. Wright, ... - 9780521424059

Statehouse DemocracyPublic Opinion and Policy in the American States\nAuthor(s): Robert S. Erikson, Gerald C. Wright, John P. McIver\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521424059, 978-0521424059\nSynopsis\nThe importance of public opinion in the determination of public policy is the subject of considerable debate. Whether discussion centres on local, state or national affairs, the influence of the opinions of ordinary citizens is often assumed yet rarely demonstrated. Other factors such as interest group lobbying, party politics and developmental, or environmental, constraints have been thought to have the greater influence over policy decisions. Professors Erikson, Wright and McIver make the argument that state policies are highly responsive to public opinion, and they show how the institutions of state politics work to achieve this high level of responsiveness. They analyse state policies from .