The Mediating Effect of Public Opinion on Public Policy: Exploring the Realm of Health CareUsing health care policy to develop a theory of how public opinion influences public policy outcomes, Richard E. Chard draws on data ranging from presidential approval ratings to polls conducted during the debate over the Health Security Act. Over the last five decades the relationship has been a complex one, yet there are clear indications that health care policy development has been controlled to a great extent by public opinion. Chard argues that policy change is either static or dynamic because public opinion, the underlying force, is itself dynamic at times and static at others, and concludes that this model of change is applicable to all policy areas, not just health care. |
Contents
Health Policy Change | 1 |
EXPLANATIONS FROM SOCIAL SCIENCE | 4 |
Exploring the Foundations of Dynamic Policy Change | |
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE POLICY | |
THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF HEALTH CARE REFORM? | |
INCREMENTALISM VERSUS DYNAMISM IN HEALTH CARE | |
Path Dependence and Policy Change | 3 |
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS AND MEDICARE | 7 |
Examining the Impact of Countervalent Messages on Policy Support | 67 |
NEGATIVE ADVERTISING AND HARRY AND LOUISE | 68 |
THE MEDIA AND THE HEALTH SECURITY ACT | 71 |
TESTING THE STRENGTH OF THE COUNTERVALENT INFORMATION MESSAGE | 73 |
UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF POLITICAL SOPHISTICATION | 75 |
DISCUSSION | 78 |
CONCLUSION | 81 |
Media Effects and Policy Opinions | 83 |
ANALYZING CHANGE | 9 |
DOES THE MOOD REALLY MATTER? | 18 |
CONCLUSION | 20 |
Presidents as Advocates Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setters | 21 |
PRESIDENTS AS ADVOCATES AND ENTREPRENEURS | 23 |
POLICY CHANGE RESEARCH | 24 |
THE PRESIDENTS AND THEIR POLICIES | 26 |
DATA AND METHODS | 35 |
RESULTS | 40 |
DISCUSSION | 43 |
CONCLUSION | 46 |
Healthy Wealthy and Wise? | 49 |
THEORIES OF INFORMATION | 51 |
THE FAILURE OF THE HEALTH SECURITY ACT | 55 |
INFORMATION AND POLICY SUPPORT | 57 |
MEASURING AND TESTING KNOWLEDGE | 58 |
A MODEL OF RECIPROCAL CAUSATION | 59 |
RESULTS | 63 |
CONCLUSION | 64 |
MEDIA PRIMING | 84 |
MEDIA COVERAGE AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE HEALTH SECURITY ACT | 87 |
DATA AND METHODS | 88 |
A MODEL OF PRIMING EFFECTS ON 1996 PRESIDENTIAL VOTE INTENTIONS | 89 |
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 90 |
AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF MEDIA PRIMING OF HEALTH CARE IN THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL RACE | 91 |
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION | 94 |
CONCLUSION | 96 |
Dynamic Health Policy Change | 99 |
THE PUBLIC MOOD AND NATIONAL HEALTH CARE SPENDING | 103 |
HEALTH POLICY HISTORY AND PRESIDENTIAL ACTIVITY | 104 |
THE RISE AND THE DEMISE OF THE HEALTH SECURITY ACT | 105 |
CONCLUSION | 107 |
Methodological Appendix | 109 |
Notes | 129 |
References | 133 |
Index | 149 |
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The Mediating Effect of Public Opinion on Public Policy: Exploring the Realm ... Richard E. Chard No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
advocacy agenda Al Gore Bill Clinton campaign change in health chapter citizens coded components Congress context crafted talk Democrat dependent variable discussion Divided Government domain-specific Education elderly election elites equation error term estimation examine exposure federal health groups Harris Wofford Harry and Louise health care policy health care reform health care spending health insurance Health Policy Attitude health policy change Health Security Act Ideology impact incremental influence instrumental variables internal validity issue Iyengar Jacobs & Shapiro Jacobs and Shapiro James Carville knowledge likelihood Louise advertisements mandate media priming mediating effect Medicare and Medicaid metaphors national health overall path dependent system policy entrepreneur policy initiatives policy preferences policy proposals Political Science political sophistication politicians predicted predictor presented president presidential popularity provision of health public mood public opinion public policy punctuated equilibrium question Republican role Schneider Table theory turbulence United vote intentions voters zero otherwise