Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics

No 681: How Policy Legitimacy Affects Policy Support Throughout the Policy Cycle

Sverker C. Jagers, Simon Matti and Katarina Nordblom ()
Additional contact information
Sverker C. Jagers: Centre for Collective Action Research Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Postal: Box 711, 405 30, Göteborg, Sweden
Simon Matti: Political Science Unit, Luleå University of Technology, Postal: SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden
Katarina Nordblom: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: P.O. Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG, Sweden

Abstract: We analyze the importance of legitimacy and compare how drivers of public policy attitudes evolve across the policy process consisting of the input (i.e. the processes forgoing acquisition of power and the procedures permeating political decision-making), throughput (i.e. the inclusion of and interactions between actors in a governance-system) and output (i.e. the substantive consequences of those decisions) stages. Using unique panel data through the three phases of the congestion tax in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, we find that legitimacy is indeed important in explaining policy support. Moreover, we find a lingering effect where support in one phase depends on legitimacy both in the present and in previous phases. Hence, our study takes us one step further on the road to understand the complicated dynamic mechanisms behind the interactions between policy making, policy support and the legitimacy and approval of politicians and political processes.

Keywords: Policy; Support; Attitudes; Legitimacy; Policy Cycle; Congestion Tax

JEL-codes: H11; H23; Z18

39 pages, December 2016

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