The Politics of Statutory Rape Laws

Adoption and Reinvention of Morality Policy in the States, 1971-1999

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6355294
AutoresCarolyn Cocca (autor de correspondencia), Carolyn E Cocca
Año2002
Volumen35
Número1
Páginas51-72
Fecha de publicación2002-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0032-3497 • E-ISSN: 1744-1684
EditorialUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/polv35n1ms3235470
OpenAlexW2568634085
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4

What is the relationship between public opinion and policy change at the state level? Particularly on morality policy outcomes, studies have shown strong correlations between public opinion and policy change. But the mechanisms by which public opinion influences policy change have been undertheorized in the comparative state policies literature. This article seeks to specify not just the correlates of policy change, but its causes as well. I would argue that in an era of low voter turnout, organized interests and elite preferences play a more direct causal role in the process than does public opinion, which works more indirectly through the above two forces. This hypothesis is modestly supported both by case studies and by event history analyses of changes made to statutory rape laws over a period of three decades. The results point to the importance of focusing on causation along with correlation, and of using both qualitative and quantitative research methods so as to link micro-level observations to macro-level abstractions

Causation · Elite · Morality · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public policy · Sociology · State (computer science · Statutory law · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning