Dynamic Representation

Abstract

This chapter considers what we have learned—and still have to learn—from research on dynamic representation in the United States and other countries. To begin with, it provides a basic theoretical exposition and then traces the previous research, organized based on the dependent variables that the scholarship has employed: the priorities and positions of elected officials, legislative votes, and policy decisions. There is substantial evidence that changing public opinion matters for all of these but that the effect does not hold universally. Issues matter and institutions do too, and under the best of circumstances, the public is just one of many factors that matter to policymakers. Indeed, we sometimes observe little impact of public opinion at all, and this is in large part because of the public’s own inattention to policy actions themselves.