A New Measure of Policy Spending Priorities in the American States

In this paper, we develop and test a general measure of policy expenditures in the American states. Our approach is to construct a spatial proximity model of yearly state program spending. The empirical analysis reveals that state spending patterns vary along a clear and readily-interpretable unidim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political analysis 2009, Vol.17 (1), p.1-24
Main Authors: Jacoby, William G., Schneider, Saundra K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coordinate systems
Environmental policy
Government Spending
Modeling
Parametric models
Point estimators
Policy
Policy making
Public policy
Spatial models
State government
States (Political Subdivisions)
United States environmental policy
United States of America
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this paper, we develop and test a general measure of policy expenditures in the American states. Our approach is to construct a spatial proximity model of yearly state program spending. The empirical analysis reveals that state spending patterns vary along a clear and readily-interpretable unidimensional continuum which differentiates policies that provide particularized benefits to needy constituencies from policies that provide broader collective goods. Based upon standard evaluative criteria, the variable created from our model possesses some highly desirable characteristics. And, it compares favorably to other measures of state policy activity. The net result is a yearly score for each state which summarizes that state's spending across all major program areas. More generally, we believe that our variable can be interpreted as valid and reliable representational measurement of state policy priorities. In this capacity, it could occupy an important position within models of state politics.
ISSN:1047-1987
1476-4989
DOI:10.1093/pan/mpn009