Who Is Responsible? Public Confidence in American Political Institutions

Abstract

This research examines the extent that public evaluations toward American political institutions are a function of similar or divergent factors. Rather than evaluating political actors based on a single criteria (i.e., the economy), citizen should perceive different roles or functions for each institution and make evaluations according to outcomes related to those functions. The attributes that citizens use in making evaluations should de- rive from the structure of government especially the separation of powers|which creates both shared and independent responsibilities for American political institutions. It is this characteristic of the U.S. political system that leads to both shared and idiosyncratic factors that drive public support. The theory is tested using an array of experimental, time-series, and cross-sectional models.