The Politics of Statutory Rape Laws

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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6355294
AutoresCarolyn Cocca (autor correspondente), Carolyn E Cocca
Ano2002
Volume35
Fascículo1
Páginas51-72
Data de publicação2002-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPolity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0032-3497 • E-ISSN: 1744-1684
EditoraUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/polv35n1ms3235470
OpenAlexW2568634085
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4

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