The (Dis)Connection Between Political Culture and External Efficacy

Abstract

Theories of political culture have traditionally been based on how the mass public views the role of government, yet scholars have rarely studied this issue. Using American National Election Studies(ANES) data from 1952 to 2008, I track cultural changes in external efficacy, a measure of the public’s beliefs about government responsiveness. The aggregate- and individual-level results indicate that external efficacy varied across political cultures until around 1980, when the differences dissipated. These findings should cause scholars to question some of the underlying theoretical basis of political culture, as well as the measurement of external efficacy.

An Examination of Seven Sociopolitical Factors and Their Connection with State Environmental Expenditures

“…Similarly, Weston-Cox et al, 2012 andLi &Elligers, 2014 connected state agency staffing levels (including non-environmental agencies) with funding. Education attainment has long been recognized as correlated to environmental awareness (Konisky, 2011;Koven & Mausolff, 2002;and Chamberlain, 2013) and so, by extension, to the robustness of state environmental agency funding. The independent variable Performance, a measure of overall state bureaucratic effectiveness, is based largely on infrastructure and financial management (Barrett & Greene, 2008).…”

“…Non-economic factors also have been used regularly to assess the presence or strength of relationships between state environmental commitment and constituent characteristics. Educational attainment (Koven & Mausolff, 2002;Konisky, 2011;Chamberlain, 2013), advocacy group activity (Hays et al, 1996) and moral or cultural beliefs (Heckman, 2012;Olive et al, 2012) have been shown to be correlated, either positively or negatively, with state environmental policy development and outcomes.…”

“…Studies such as Hays et al 1996;Koven & Mausolff, 2002;and Heckman, 2012 tend to confirm the intuitive belief that a liberal state citizenry (i.e., politically Democratic or left-leaning) will be strongly committed to environmental policies. However, research efforts by Sharp & Haider-Markel, 2008;Olive et al, 2012;Flavin, 2012;and Chamberlain, 2013 do not show such a clear correlation; citing other factors such as activity by special interest groups, constituent wealth (income), and moral beliefs as playing a more crucial or dominant role in state environmental policy.…”

The Economic Roots of External Efficacy: Assessing the Relationship between External Political Efficacy and Income Inequality

“…Respondents scoring 75 after 1988 were coded as 1. See Chamberlain (2013) for an example of the external political efficacy index coded and used in this way. 10 Other measures of political polarization were included in previous models but were not used because if high collinearity between polarization and income inequality.…”

Technology and Civic Engagement in the College Classroom

“…Political efficacy has been conceptualized as two discrete constructs: internal and external (Chamberlain 2013; see also Dyck and Lascher 2009;Pingree 2011). Internal efficacy has been defined as "beliefs about one's own competence to understand, and to participate effectively in, politics," while external efficacy "refer[s] to beliefs about the responsiveness of governmental authorities and institutions to citizen demands" , 1407-1408, relying on Lane 1959.…”