The US Policy Agendas Project

Abstract

The US Policy Agendas Project studies the many outputs of the US national policy process, ranging from the formal institutions to mass public opinion and mood. This chapter provides a brief introduction to the US political system and the datasets that are currently collected and managed by the Project. These include media, interest-group, legislative, and executive activities, as well as spending data over many decades, typically since 1947. Finally, this chapter offers an illustrative example of how scholars can use the data to study attention in the policy process, by looking at attention to healthcare over time and different parts of the political system.