Pollution and the public: how information accessibility conditions the public’s responsiveness to policy and outcomes

Ross Buchanan

Journal of Public Policy, 2023, vol. 43, issue 1, 115-134

Abstract: This article advances a theory that brings real-world outcomes into our current understanding of the dynamic relationship between public opinion and policy. It examines a vital public good – air pollution remediation in 319 American localities – and estimates a dynamic model of relationships among three key variables: public opinion, policy, and air pollution outcomes. The analysis focuses on both public opinion and air pollution outcomes as dependent variables. I find that public opinion reacts to changes in statewide policy and local air pollution, which suggests the public forms its opinions with whatever reliable information is most readily available. I also find that local public opinion’s impact on local air pollution is substantively meaningful on timescales smaller than 5 years, indicating that the additional policy effort prompted by public opinion change is sufficient to yield tangible real-world outcomes even in the short term.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jnlpup:v:43:y:2023:i:1:p:115-134_5

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