Narratives and expert information in agenda‐setting
Experimental evidence on state legislator engagement with artificial intelligence policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7350583 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel S Schiff (0000-0002-4376-7303, Department of Political Science Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA), Kaylyn Jackson Schiff (0000-0002-4239-5915, Department of Political Science Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 817-842 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/psj.12511 |
| OpenAlex | W4384827005 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 82 |
Are narratives as influential in gaining the attention of policymakers as expert information, including for complex, technical policy domains such as artificial intelligence (AI) policy? This pre‐registered study uses a field experiment to evaluate legislator responsiveness to policy entrepreneur outreach. In partnership with a leading AI think tank, we send more than 7300 U.S. state legislative offices emails about AI policy containing an influence strategy (providing a narrative, expert information, or the organization's background), along with a prominent issue frame about AI (emphasizing technological competition or ethical implications). To assess engagement, we measure link clicks to further resources and webinar registration and attendance. Although AI policy is a highly technical domain, we find that narratives are just as effective as expert information in engaging legislators. Compared to control, expert information and narratives led to 28 and 34 percent increases in policymaker engagement, respectively. Furthermore, higher legislature professionalism and lower state‐level prior AI experience are associated with greater engagement with both narratives and expert information. Finally, we find that policymakers are equally engaged by an ethical framing of AI policy as they are with an economic one. The findings advance efforts to bridge scholarship on policy narratives, policy entrepreneurship, and agenda‐setting
Framing (construction · Legislation · Legislator · Narrative · Political science · Public relations · Scholarship · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Engineering · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
How New Issues Become Polarized
Algorithms for a new season? Mapping a decade of research on the artificial intelligence-driven digital transformation of public administration
A question of style? Regulating artificial intelligence in the European Union and the USA
Defining artificial intelligence as a policy problem
Governance of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector
Semper supra”? Trump administration policy narratives and the creation of the space force
Artificial Intelligence and Data-Driven Technology in the Public Policy Cycle
Policymaking in the digital era
Narratives in the nascent policy subsystem of AI biometrics
A narrative policy framework analysis of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Navigating the mismeasurement of intermediary variables in message-based experiments
Which Information Do Politicians Pay Attention To? Evidence from a Field Experiment and Interviews
Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Time Constraints
The politics of human rights in Argentina
Common Knowledge
Education for AI, not AI for Education
Helping a Victim or Helping the Victim
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
Fragmentation and the Future
AI in the headlines
Against the new space race
Wind(ow) of Change
Policy entrepreneurs and problem framing
Policy dynamics and types of agency
Studying policy diffusion at the individual level
Policy Narratives and Public Opinion concerning Charter Schools
Matching knowledge brokering strategies to environmental policy problems and settings
The potential impact of emerging technologies on democratic representation
Nine lives of uncertainty in decision-making
A River Runs Through It
What do policy-makers do with scientific uncertainty? The incremental character of Swedish climate change policy-making
Cultural Characters and Climate Change
Public opinion for sale
Agenda Dynamics and Policy Subsystems
Agenda‐building and the Politics of Aging
Epistemic communities, collective entrepreneurship and European integration
Reader reaction to news of mass suffering
Looking through a policy window with tinted glasses
A Field Experiment on Legislators’ Home Styles
Representation and American Governing Institutions
Regulatory Issue Networks in a Federal System
Advantages, Challenges and Limitations of Audit Experiments with Constituents
Getting a High Heel in the Door
The Intersection of Narrative Policy Analysis and Policy Change Theory
The Multiple Streams Approach at the Theoretical and Empirical Crossroads
Fracking Bad Guys
Beyond Empiricism
The Conditioning Effects of Policy Salience and Complexity on American Political Institutions
Communicating Climate Change
A Narrative Policy Framework
A Research Agenda for the Study of Policy Entrepreneurs
Policy Narratives and Policy Outcomes
Policy Entrepreneurs, Legislators, and Agenda Setting
Policy Entrepreneurship and Policy Change
The Narrative Policy Framework, Agendas, and Sanctuary Cities
Advancing the Narrative Policy Framework? The Musings of a Potentially Unreliable Narrator
Legislative Professionalization and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures
The Multiple Streams Framework and the problem broker
Do Politicians Racially Discriminate Against Constituents? A Field Experiment on State Legislators
Social Esteem and Participation in Contentious Politics
How do Public Officials Learn About Policy? A Field Experiment on Policy Diffusion
Does Grassroots Lobbying Work
Framing Theory
Framing responsibility for political issues
Policy Entrepreneurs, Issue Experts, and Water Rights Policy Change in Colorado
Competition and cooperation in artificial intelligence standard setting
The Two Faces of Issue Voting
Human Rights Organizations as Agents of Change
| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 12 |