Issue Publics in American Politics

Citation

Glasgow, Garrett Edwin (1999) Issue Publics in American Politics. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/wse3-fr29. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:06292020-130045269

Abstract

This work examines the existence of heterogeneity in the impact of issues on vote choice in the American electorate. I begin by explaining the reasons for studying heterogeneity in issue weights from both a methodological and substantive perspective. In Chapter 2 I examine the aggregate effect of heterogeneity in costs of information on the measures of issue salience derived from spatial models of voting. I find some evidence that individuals who are uncertain about candidate issue positions do bias these estimates, but the resulting bias is slight in the aggregate. However, the results of this chapter are suggestive, indicating that different voters may use issues differently or not at all, depending on their costs of information. In order to examine this possibility further, individual measures of issue salience must be developed. Chapter 3 explores the utility of using survey questions about issue salience as the solution to this problem. Unfortunately, most of the survey questions currently employed do not prove to be useful in determining issue salience in spatial models of voting. Thus, Chapter 4 attempts to determine individual level issue salience indirectly, using a method that employs rank-ordered data to estimate separate issue weights for each individual on each issue. I find a clear relationship between issue salience and costs of information, with those individuals who face higher costs of information being less likely to place weight on any given issue or consider multiple issues when deciding who to vote for. Although I am able to employ this technique to learn a great deal about the relationship between issue salience and the costs of information, this technique is not suited for most datasets. Therefore, in Chapter 5 I develop a model that allows for heterogeneity in issue weights, but is more widely applicable to the kind of data generally available for studying American elections. I again find evidence of heterogeneity in the impact of issues on vote choice in the American electorate and the role that costs of information play in determining issue salience. Finally, I conclude, discussing my findings and the implications they have for the political process in the United States.

Thesis Files