Do bureaucratic appointees change their minds? Preference stability at the NLRB

Bibliographic Data

ID10764142
AuthorsDavid C Nixon (0000-0003-4045-2370, Department of Public Administration University of Hawaii Honolulu Hawaii USA, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume104
Issue4
Pages702-715
Publication date2023-07-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-4941 • E-ISSN: 1540-6237
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ssqu.13294
OpenAlexW4382561062
LanguageEN
References cited21

Objectives Questions of attitude stability for appointed decisionmakers are vital to our understanding of democracy. I test the assumption of bureaucratic preference stability that is widespread in formal and empirical analyses of the U.S. executive branch. Methods The study presents a qualitative analysis of quantitative voting data for members of the National Labor Relations Board from 1948 to 1988 Results Analysis reveals a few clear cases of permanent and important preference change and some evidence of change at the very beginning or very end of a few board members' careers. But overall there is remarkable stability in the relative levels of support for labor exhibited by board members as their careers unfold. Conclusions With some notable exceptions, an independent regulatory board member's revealed preferences tend to remain stable and consistent with the expectations that any observer would have had at the time of their initial appointment

Bureaucracy · Democracy · Economics · Empirical research · Microeconomics · Political science · Politics · Preference · Test (biology) · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Psychology

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