Can Latent Groups Influence Policy Decisions? The Case of Telecommunications Policy
Posted: 29 Feb 2008
Abstract
Electoral constituencies recognize favorable policy outcomes in high-turnout jurisdictions. In this article I evaluate whether underlying institutions might provide a finer explanation of this relationship. To do so I formally examine variation in telecommunications policy across U.S. states. The resulting evidence is consistent with residential customers recognizing more favorable policy when institutions reduce voting`s resource cost (measured by registration rules) or increase its nonpecuniary benefit (measured by Perot support). Measures of either force explain significantly more variation in the present data than does a measure of actual participation (i.e., turnout).
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