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Relative Unemployment, Political Information, and the Job Approval Ratings of State Governors and Legislatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2021

Jeffrey E. Cohen Open the ORCID record for Jeffrey E. Cohen [Opens in a new window]
Jeffrey E. Cohen*
Affiliation:
Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA
*
Corresponding Author: Jeffrey E. Cohen, Fordham University, 675 Faber Hall, 441 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458, USA. Email: cohen@fordham.edu
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Abstract

Research finds that voters benchmark the state's unemployment level to the nation's when holding state policy makers accountable. Yet benchmarking requires some voter knowledge if the standard is to be applied correctly as an accountability rule. This article leverages the fact that voters have more knowledge about their state governors than legislatures assess how much knowledge is necessary for holding these policy makers accountable. Using pooled Cooperative Congressional Election Study data from 2006 to 2016, results find that knowledge has stronger mediating effects for the state legislature than governor. Furthermore, despite the low knowledge levels among voters about the state legislature, collectively there appears to be enough knowledge to hold that policymaking body accountable. The conclusion offers directions for future research.

Keywords

job approvalgovernorsexecutive politicsstate legislatureseconomic policypublic policyissue preferencespublic opinion
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 437 - 461
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020

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