Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:31:41.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Impact of Social Diversity and Racial Attitudes on Social Welfare Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Martin Johnson
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Students of race and politics in the U.S. have long asserted a relationship between the racial composition and public policies of states. A related but distinct line of research demonstrates a strong connection between white attitudes about the perceived recipients of social welfare spending—blacks and members of other minority groups—and support for these programs. This article bridges these lines of scholarship by asking how racial diversity shapes aggregate attitudes about minorities in the American states and how these opinions in turn influence welfare spending. Using public opinion data from the General Social Survey (1974–96), I find that diversity has a direct influence on welfare policy in the states, as well as an indirect influence through shaping majority-group racial attitudes. Diversity and racial attitudes are found to have these effects even when controlling for factors traditionally used to explain variation in state spending levels, such as party competition, lower class mobilization, ideology, and state capacity.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , Spring 2001 , pp. 27 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achen, Christopher H., and Phillips Shively, W. 1995. Cross-level Inference. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Allport, Gordon W. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Asher, Herbert B. 1976. Causal Modeling. Beverly Hills, CA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Berry, William D., and Fording, Richard C. 1997. “Measuring State Tax Capacity and Effort.” Social Science Quarterly 78:158–166.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence. 1991. “Social Responsibility and Redistributive Policies.” Sociological Forum 6:71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, Butler, Kellie N., Arceneaux, Kevin, and Johnson, Martin. 1999. “Public Opinion in the American States.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Jewett, Aubrey. 1995. “Field Essay: The State of State Politics Research.” Political Research Quarterly 48:643–682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branton, Regina P., and Jones, Bradford S. 1999. “Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Prejudice.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Seattle.Google Scholar
Carmines, Edward G., and Zeller, Richard A. 1979. Reliability and Validity Assessment. Newbury Park, CA: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carsey, Thomas M. 1995 “The Contextual Effects of Race on White Behavior: The 1989 New York City Mayoral Election.” Journal of Politics 57:221–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cnudde, Charles C., and McCrone, Donald J. 1969. “Party Competition and Welfare Policies in the American States.” American Political Science Review 63:858–866.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damico, Sandra Bowman, and Sparks, Christopher. 1986. “Cross-Group Contact Opportunities: Impact on Interpersonal Relationships in Desegregated Middle Schools.” Sociology of Education 59:113–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, James A., and Smith, Tom W. 1996. General Social Surveys, 1972-1996: Cumulative Codebook. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.Google Scholar
Dawson, Richard E., and Robinson, James A. 1963. “Inter-Party Competition, Economic Variables, and Welfare Policies in the American States.” Journal of Politics 25:265–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dye, Thomas R. 1984. “Party and Policy in the States.” Journal of Politics 46:1097–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., Wright, Gerald C., and McIver, John P. 1993. Statehouse Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Firebaugh, Glenn, and Davis, Kenneth. 1988. “Trends in Anti-Black Prejudice, 1972-1984: Region and Cohort Effects.” American Journal of Sociology 94: 251–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, H.D. 1997. Ethnic Conflict. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Fording, Richard C. 1999. “The Politics of Prejudice: Establishing the Link Between Race and Public Policy.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Fording, Richard C. 1997. “The Conditional Effect of Violence as a Political Tactic: Mass Insurgency, Welfare Generosity, and Electoral Context in the American States.” American Journal of Political Science 41:1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 1998. “Racial Attitudes and Race-Neutral Social Policies: White Opposition to Welfare and the Politics of Racial Inequality.” In Perception and Prejudice, eds. Hurwitz, Jon and Peffley, Mark. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Giles, Michael W., and Melanie Buckner. 1993. “David Duke and Black Threat: An Old Hypothesis Revisited.” Journal of Politics 57:702–713.Google Scholar
Glaser, James M. 1994. “Back to the Black Belt: Racial Environment and White Racial Attitudes in the South.” Journal of Politics 56:21–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hero, Rodney E. 1998. Faces of Inequality: Social Diversity in American Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hero, Rodney E., and Tolbert, Caroline J. 1996. “A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S.” American Journal of Political Science 40: 851–871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Kim Quaile, and Hinton-Andersson, Angela. 1995. “Pathways of Representation: A Causal Analysis of Public Opinion-Policy Linkages.” American Journal of Political Science 39:924–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Kim Quaile, and Leighley, Jan. 1999. “Racial Diversity, Voter Turnout, and Mobilizing Institutions in the United States.” American Politics Quarterly 27: 275–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Kim Quaile, Leighley, Jan, and Hinton-Andersson, Angela. 1995. “Lower Class Mobilization and Policy Linkage in the U.S. States.” American Journal of Political Science 39:75–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M., and Dunk, Emily Van. 1993. “Electoral Competition in the American States.” American Political Science Review 87:955–962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, Christopher. 1999. “The American Welfare State, or States?” Political Research Quarterly 52:421–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huckfeldt, Robert, and Kohfeld, Carol Weitzel. 1989. Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Hurwitz, Jon, and Peffley, Mark, eds. 1998. Perception and Prejudice. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Jones, Bradford S., and Norrander, Barbara. 1996. “The Reliability of Aggregated Public Opinion Measures.” American Journal of Political Science 40:295–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, Paul. 1992. A Guide to Econometrics. 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Key, V.O. Jr. 1949. Southern Politics in State and Nation. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Mendelberg, Tali. 1995 “Cracks in American Apartheid? The Political Impact of Prejudice Among Desegregated Whites.” Journal of Politics 58:1156–70.Google Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Sanders, Lynn M. 1996. Divided by Color: Racial Politics and Democratic Ideals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Langer, Laura. 1999. “Measuring Income Distribution across Space and Time in the American States.” Social Science Quarterly 80:55–67.Google Scholar
Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E. 1963. “Constituency Influence in Congress.” American Political Science Review 57:45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norrander, Barbara. 2001 “Measuring Public Opinion with the Senate National Election Study.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 1:111–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orr, Larry L. 1976. “Income Transfers as a Public Good: An Application to AFDC.” American Economic Review 66:359–371.Google Scholar
Page, Benjamin, and Shapiro, Robert Y. 1983. “Effects of Public Opinion on Policy.” American Political Science Review 77:175–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peffley, Mark, and Hurwitz, Jon. 1998. “Whites' Stereotypes of Blacks: Sources and Political Consequences.” In Perception and Prejudice, eds. Hurwitz, Jon and Peffley, Mark. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Peffley, Mark, Hurwitz, Jon, and Sniderman, Paul M. 1997. “Racial Stereotypes and Whites' Political Views of Blacks in the Context of Welfare and Crime.” American Journal of Political Science 41:30–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, Paul E. 1995. The Price of Federalism. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Pettigrew, Thomas F. 2000. “Systematizing the Predictors of Prejudice.” In Racialized Politics: The Debate About Racism in America, eds. Sears, David O., Sidanius, Jim, and Bobo, Lawrence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Plotnick, Robert D., and Winters, Richard F. 1985. “A Political-Economic Theory of Income Redistribution.” American Political Science Review. 79:458–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quillian, Lincoln. 1995. “Prejudice as a Response to Perceived Group Threat: Population Composition and Anti-Immigrant and Racial Prejudice in Europe.” American Sociological Review 60: 586–611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumann, Howard, Steeh, Charlotte, and Bobo, Lawrence. 1985. Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda. 1992. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Tom W., and Sheatsley, Paul B. 1984. “American Attitudes Toward Race Relations.” Public Opinion 7(5): 14–5, 50-3.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., and Carmines, Edward. 1997. Reaching Beyond Race. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., Crosby, Gretchen C., and Howell, William G. 2000. “The Politics of Race.” In Racialized Politics: The Debate About Racism in America, eds. Sears, David O., Sidanius, Jim, and Bobo, Lawrence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Stein, Robert M., Post, Stephanie Shirley, and Rinden, Allison. 2000 “Reconciling Context and Contact Effects on Racial Attitudes.” Political Research Quarterly 53:285–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stouffer, Samuel C. 1955. Communism, Conformity and Civil Liberties. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Taylor, Marylee C. 1998. “The Effect of Racial Composition on Racial Attitudes of Whites.” American Sociological Review 63: 512–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treiman, Donald J. 1966. “Status Discrepancy and Prejudice.” American Journal of Sociology 71: 651–664.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1999. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1992. State Government Employment and Payroll, October 1992. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce. <http://www.census.gov/govs/apes.92>>Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1990. Current Population Survey, March 1990. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. 1997. Statistical Report on Recipients Under Public Assistance. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services. <http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/opre>..>Google Scholar
Voss, D. Stephen. 1996. “Beyond Racial Threat: Failure of an Old Hypothesis in the New South.” Journal of Politics 58:1156–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wlezien, Christopher. 1995. “The Public as Thermostat: Dynamics of Preferences for Spending.” American Journal of Political Science 39:981–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Gerald C. 1976. “Racism and Welfare Policy in America.” Social Science Quarterly 57:718–730.Google Scholar