Attitudes to public expenditure and their relationship to voting preferences
TL;DR: However, these changes may be a function of the preferences the politicians feel the voters have rather than a reaction to the actual views and attitudes of the electorate as mentioned in this paper, and whether they are likely to affect the behaviour of the "floating voter" is open to doubt.
Abstract: THERE has been a great deal of interest shown in the growth of public expenditure among recent publications. This interest has mainly been concerned with investigations of the possible causes of this expansion and with predictions of future trends and their economic and political implications. It seems most likely that the total expenditure of a government is affected by a whole series of factors which interact with one another. Klein’ has argued that among the major influences are demographic changes in society (for example the growing number of retired and elderly), competitive pressures between government departments who may measure their success by their own expansion, and finally party political competition. I t is to the last of these factors that the present paper payi particular attention. While many would agree with Downs* that expenditures and taxation are a government’s principal policy tools it is not clear whether these can be used to maximize political support or that they have a major impact on voting behaviour. Observers and advocates of the political business cycle3 take the view that some of the interventions of government which modify the level of unemployment and the rate of price increases are carried out in an attempt to increase the administration’s popularity, especially among ‘floating voters’, when an election approaches. However, these changes may be a function of the preferences the politicians feel the voters have rather than a reaction to the actual views and attitudes of the electorate. This may also be true of changes in fiscal policy: few would disagree that income tax reductions are generally well received but the question of how people react to such changes in public expenditure are less clear cut; whether they are likely to affect the behaviour of the ‘floating voter’ is open to doubt. If public spending policies are in some way important to the general public there are at least two important criteria that have first to be satisfied:
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TL;DR: This article examined empirical evidence of the connection between support for the welfare state and different types of regime and social and political factors, and the analysis of these relationships has important implications for policy-makers who are concerned about consent to their programmes and about the experiences of comparable regimes.
Abstract: Apart from the preoccupation with raising revenue for the welfare state, the question of popular support is central to its future. Arguments about the prospects for the welfare state, about its social and political bases of support and about classifying different types of regime provide the context of our investigation. Our approach is to examine empirical evidence of the connection between support for the welfare state and (a) different types of regime and (b) social and political factors. The analysis of these relationships has important implications for policy-makers who are concerned about consent to their programmes and about the experiences of comparable regimes.
130 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether the trends identified by Edgell and Duke, and Lewis, are substantiated by a much larger and comprehensive data base, and concluded that there is a marked relationship between party political support and public expenditure preferences and a mirroring of party policy by preference.
Abstract: Promises to cut taxation and public spending have become central themes in the economic management of the Governments of both Great Britain and the United States of America. Questions arise as to the degree of support for these policies from among the electorate given that the successful implementation of such policies, especially as an election approaches, is in part dependent on such support. Recent survey studies by Lewis’ in Bath and Edgell and Duke2 in Greater Manchester have suggested that preferences for spending are buoyant and that cleavages between the preferences of regular supporters of differing political parties are more pronounced than previously. The present paper examines whether the trends identified by Edgell and Duke, and Lewis, are substantiated by a much larger and comprehensive data base. In the Edge11 and Duke study of 948 respondents from two wards of Greater Manchester, ‘Health’ was the most favoured expenditure (78 per cent wanting more to be spent), followed closely by ‘Education’ (73 per cent). There were major differences between supporters of varying political parties. Some 64 per cent of stable Labour supporters3 wanted more spent on the ‘Welfare State’ (education, social services and health expenditures combined) as opposed to 19 per cent of stable Co.iservatives. Only 16 per cent of stable Labour supporters wanted more spending on ‘Law and Order’ (police and armed forces combined), a figure that rose to 43 per cent for stable Conservatives. In summary the results from the surveys of Edgell and Duke, and Lewis, bear a striking consistency: both record sustained support for favoured items of public expenditure; a marked relationship between party political support and public expenditure preferences and a mirroring of party policy by preference. There are methodological differences between the two studies yet a comparison between them indicates how preferences may have shifted over time. In Lewis’s earlier (1980) study there was majority support for public spending cuts (63 per cent) which was more pronounced among Conservative party supporters (76
51 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, questions were asked concerning beliefs as to the sources of government revenue to pay for services; whether taxes should he increased to improve services; and whether any extra tax levied should go on incomes or the goods people buy.
47 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the relationship between political ideology and attitudes toward tax compliance within the "slippery slope framework" and found significant differences between left-leaning and right-leaning taxpayers.
Abstract: Research on tax behaviour or attitudes towards tax evasion has rarely taken into account the political preferences of taxpayers. The present research aimed to explore the relationship between political ideology and attitudes toward tax compliance within the “slippery slope framework” (Kirchler, Hoelzl, & Wahl, 2008). We conducted a quantitative survey (N = 272) and two online focus groups with self-employed taxpayers in Italy, and found significant differences between left-leaning and right-leaning taxpayers. These two groups were characterized by two different pathways that lead to greater tax compliance, and attached different meanings and values to tax behaviours. In particular, left-leaning taxpayers expressed higher levels of voluntary cooperation and showed reactance to the coercive power of authorities, whereas right-leaning taxpayers expressed higher levels of enforced tax compliance and were more averse to tax evasion with increased trust in authorities and institutions. Although further research on this topic is advisable, these results bear relevant theoretical and practical implications.
33 citations
Cites background from "Attitudes to public expenditure and..."
...…into account have usually focused on its relationship to evaluations of specific fiscal policies, such as change in tax rates or tax reforms (Lewis, 1980; Lozza, Carrera, & Bosio, 2010; Sears, Tau, Tyler, & Allen, 1980), preferences for fiscal systems (Hasseldine & Hite, 2003; Lewis, 1978;…...
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the electorate is chronically ignorant of the costs and benefits of many actual and potential government policies, and that this ignorance causes governments to enact budgets smaller than the ones they would enact if the electorate possessed complete information.
Abstract: In a democratic society, the division of resources between the public and private sectors is roughly determined by the desires of the electorate. But because it is such a complex and time-consuming task to acquire adequate political information, the electorate is chronically ignorant of the costs and benefits of many actual and potential government policies. It is my belief that this ignorance causes governments to enact budgets smaller than the ones they would enact if the electorate possessed complete information. Yet these undersized budgets stem from rational behavior by both the government and the electorate; hence they are extremely difficult to remedy. Furthermore, the resulting misallocation of resources becomes more and more serious as the economy grows more complex.
268 citations
TL;DR: Public expenditure is quite the most visible and quantifiable measure of government activity as mentioned in this paper, and it is therefore surprising that in Britain, as distinct from the United States, this area has been massively neglected by political scientists.
Abstract: Public expenditure is quite the most visible and quantifiable measure of government activity. It is therefore surprising that in Britain, as distinct from the United States, this area has been massively neglected by political scientists. This neglect is all the odder since public expenditure in Britain – comprehensively and conventionally defined to include all spending by central and local government, as well as capital investment by public corporations – has been increasing rapidly both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the national income: between the early 1960s and the middle 'seventies, it rose from just under two-fifths to almost three-fifths of the Gross National Product. So, in effect, the scope of political decision-making about the distribution of national resources has grown considerably, reflecting the changing balance between the political market and the economic market. The dynamics of this process are highly relevant for an understanding of the British political system.
39 citations