Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Policy Preference Formation in Legislative Politics: Structures, Actors, and Focal Points

Policy Preference Formation in Legislative Politics: Structures, Actors, and Focal Points This article introduces a model of policy preference formation in legislative politics. Emphasizing a dynamic relationship between structure, agent, and decision‐making process, it ties the question of policy choice to the dimensionality of the normative and cognitive political space and the strategic actions of parliamentary agenda setters. The model proposes that structural factors, such as ideology, shape policy preferences to the extent that legislative actors successfully link them to specific policy proposals through the strategic provision of focal points. These ideas or images shift attention toward particular aspects of a legislative proposal, thus shaping the dominant interpretation of its content and consequences. This interpretation affects both individual‐level policy preferences and policy outcomes. The propositions of the focal‐point model are tested empirically in a detailed examination of European Union legislation on cross‐border takeover bids, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Political Science Wiley

Policy Preference Formation in Legislative Politics: Structures, Actors, and Focal Points

American Journal of Political Science , Volume 49 (4) – Oct 1, 2005

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/policy-preference-formation-in-legislative-politics-structures-actors-eNdcaMEfnN

References (51)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0092-5853
eISSN
1540-5907
DOI
10.1111/j.1540-5907.2005.00151.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article introduces a model of policy preference formation in legislative politics. Emphasizing a dynamic relationship between structure, agent, and decision‐making process, it ties the question of policy choice to the dimensionality of the normative and cognitive political space and the strategic actions of parliamentary agenda setters. The model proposes that structural factors, such as ideology, shape policy preferences to the extent that legislative actors successfully link them to specific policy proposals through the strategic provision of focal points. These ideas or images shift attention toward particular aspects of a legislative proposal, thus shaping the dominant interpretation of its content and consequences. This interpretation affects both individual‐level policy preferences and policy outcomes. The propositions of the focal‐point model are tested empirically in a detailed examination of European Union legislation on cross‐border takeover bids, using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Journal

American Journal of Political ScienceWiley

Published: Oct 1, 2005

There are no references for this article.