Abstract
Low public support for government interventions in health, environment and other policy domains can be a barrier to implementation. Communicating evidence of policy effectiveness has been used to influence attitudes towards policies, with mixed results. This review provides the first systematic synthesis of such studies. Eligible studies were randomized controlled experiments that included an intervention group that provided evidence of a policy's effectiveness or ineffectiveness at achieving a salient outcome, and measured policy support. From 6498 abstracts examined, there were 45 effect sizes from 36 eligible studies. In total, 35 (N = 30 858) communicated evidence of effectiveness, and 10 (N = 5078) communicated evidence of ineffectiveness. Random effects meta-analysis revealed that communicating evidence of a policy's effectiveness increased support for the policy (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI [0.07, 0.15], p < 0.0001), equivalent to support increasing from 50% to 54% (95% CI [53%, 56%]). Communicating evidence of ineffectiveness decreased policy support (SMD = −0.14, 95% CI [−0.22, −0.06], p < 0.001), equivalent to support decreasing from 50% to 44% (95% CI [41%, 47%]). These findings suggest that public support for policies in a range of domains is sensitive to evidence of their effectiveness, as well as their ineffectiveness.
Highlights
Communicating the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of government policies and their impact on public support: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Random effects meta-analysis revealed that communicating evidence of a policy’s effectiveness increased support for the policy (SMD = 0.11, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) [0.07, 0.15], p < 0.0001), equivalent to support increasing from 50% to 54%
Communicating evidence of ineffectiveness decreased policy support (SMD = −0.14, 95% CI [−0.22, −0.06], p < 0.001), equivalent to support decreasing from 50% to 44%
Summary
Communicating the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of government policies and their impact on public support: a systematic review with meta-analysis. The current study aims to systematically synthesize the evidence for changing public attitudes and support for policies by communicating evidence about a policy’s effectiveness at achieving its goal. This is the first study of which we are aware to conduct such a synthesis. The perceived effectiveness of a policy at achieving its goal has consistently been found as one of the strongest predictors of support over a range of policies [8,9,10,11,12,13,14] Reflecting these findings, a number of studies have communicated evidence that a policy is effective as an intervention to increase policy support, with mixed results. Subsequent studies, found that true belief polarization is not the norm, and a relatively rare phenomenon; ‘by and large, citizens heed factual information, even when such information challenges their ideological commitments’ [30,31,32]
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