Public Opinion

The Sometime Connection

Name: The Sometime Connection
Author: Elaine B. Sharp
ISBN: 9780791442968

by Elaine B. Sharp

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

The Sometime Connection introduces a variety of theoretical perspectives on the connection between public opinion and policy and applies them to six social policy topics: abortion, affirmative action, welfare, Social Security, corrections, and pornography. The book provides complete policy histories, information on trends in public opinion, and a diagnosis of the role that public opinion has played in the development of policy for each of the six topics discussed.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Booknews

In a study of what Sharp (political science, U. of Kansas) terms "the elusive connection" between public opinion and policy, the author applies various theoretical frameworks to the development histories of six public policy issues: imprisonment, affirmative action, pornography, abortion, welfare, and Social Security. Her analysis offers an alternative to models that oversimplify the degree of manipulation of the public by officials or the responsiveness of politicos to public preferences. One of the 23 graphics summarizes findings on the public opinion-policy linkage by level of issue salience and consensus and era (early 1970s-early 1990s). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)