Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T00:43:08.731Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gubernatorial Approval and Administrative Influence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Nelson C. Dometrius
Nelson C. Dometrius*
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The connection between the government and the governed is often evaluated using election results. This article explores this connection between elections using data on gubernatorial approval in the states. Specifically, I ask the question, Do governors with greater job approval ratings have greater influence over the state bureaucracy than governors with lower approval ratings? Measures of both gubernatorial influence and administrator contact with gubernatorial staff are regressed on gubernatorial approval ratings from state polling data, along with controls for other state characteristics. The results show that approval does affect a governor's influence with the bureaucracy, and as such, serves as an additional connection between the government and the governed.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , Fall 2002 , pp. 251 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2002

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

Abney, Glenn, and Lauth, Thomas P.. 1984. The Politics of State and City Administration. Albany NY:: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Rae, Atkeson Lonna, and Partin, Randall W.. 1995. “Economic and Referendum Voting: A Comparison of Gubernatorial and Senatorial Elections.” American Political Science Review 89:99–107.Google Scholar
Barrilleaux, Charles. 1999. “Governors, Bureaus, and State Policymaking.” State and Local Government Review 31:53–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel, and Katz, Jonathan N.. 1995. “What to Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data.” American Political Science Review 89:634–647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyle, Thad. 1999. “The Governors.” In Politics in the American States, eds. Gray, Virginia, Hanson, Russell L., and Jacob, Herbert. 7th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Beyle, Thad, Niemi, Richard G., and Sigelman, Lee. 2002. “Gubernatorial, Senatorial, and State-Level Presidential Job Approval: The U.S. Officials Job Approval Ratings (JAR) Collection.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 2:215–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Hinckley, Barbara. 1991. “The Structure of Presidential Approval: Constraints within and across Presidencies.” Journal of Politics 53:993–1017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Ward, Daniel S.. 1999. “The Institutionalized Legislature and the Rise of the Antipolitics Era.” In American State and Local Politics: Direction for the 21st Century, eds. Weber, Ronald E. and Brace, Paul. New York: Chatham House/Seven Bridges Press.Google Scholar
Carsey, Thomas M. 2000. Campaign Dynamics: The Race for Governor. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dometrius, Nelson C. 1999. “Governors: Their Heritage and Future.” In American State and Local Politics: Direction for the 21st Century, eds. Weber, Ronald E. and Brace, Paul. New York: Chatham House/Seven Bridges Press.Google Scholar
Dometrius, Nelson C. 2001. “Institutional Changes and Gubernatorial Influence over State Administrative Structures.” Presented at the combined Research Conference on Gubernatorial, Senatorial, and Presidential Approval and the Conference on the Study of Politics in the American States, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1967. Inside Bureaucracy. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elling, Richard. 1992. Public Management in the States. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., Wright, Gerald, and McIver, John. 1989. “Partisan Elections, Public Opinion and State Policy.” American Political Science Review 83:729–750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., Wright, Gerald, and McIver, John. 1993. Statehouse Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fiske, Susan T. 1993. “Cognitive Theory and the Presidency.” In Researching the Presidency: Vital Questions, New Approaches, eds. Edwards, George C. III, Kessel, John H., and Rockman, Bert A.. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Goodsell, Charles T. 1994. The Case for Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic. 3rd ed. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.Google Scholar
Howell, Susan E., and Vanderleeuw, James M.. 1990. “Economic Effects on State Governors.” American Politics Quarterly 18:158–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hummel, Ralph P. 1994. The Bureaucratic Experience. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's. King, James D. 2000. “Changes in Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 25:327–359.Google Scholar
King, James D. 2001. “Incumbent Popularity and Vote Choice in Gubernatorial Elections.” Journal of Politics 63:585–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 1984. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Boston, MA: Little Brown.Google Scholar
MacDonald, Jason A., and Sigelman, Lee. 1999. “Public Assessment of Gubernatorial Performance: A Comparative State Analysis.” American Politics Quarterly 27:201–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIver, John P., Erikson, Robert S., and Wright, Gerald C.. 2001. “Public Opinion and Public Policy in Temporal Perspective: A View from the States.” Presented at the Conference on the Study of Politics in the American States, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.Google Scholar
Niemi, Richard G., Stanley, Harold W., and Vogel, Ronald J.. 1995. “State Economies and State Taxes: Do Voters Hold Governors Accountable?” American Journal of Political Science 39:936–957.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niskanen, William. A. Jr. 1971. Bureaucracy and Representative Government. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Sabato, Larry. 1978. Goodbye to Good-time Charlie: The American Governor Transformed, 1950-1975. Lexington, MA: DC Heath and Co.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Joseph A. 1966. Ambition and Politics. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Sigelman, Lee. 1986. “The Bureaucrat as Budget Maximizer: An Assumption Examined.” Public Budgeting and Finance 6:50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigelman, Lee, and Dometrius, Nelson C.. 1988. “Governors as Chief Administrators: The Linkage between Formal Powers and Informal Influence.” American Politics Quarterly 16:157–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigelman, Lee, and Smith, Roland. 1981. “Personal, Office, and State Characteristics as Predictors of Gubernatorial Performance.” Journal of Politics 43:169–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, Herbert A. 1945. Administrative Behavior: A Study of the Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organization. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Stimson, James. 1985. “Regression in Space and Time: A Statistical Essay.” American Journal of Political Science 29:914–947.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan. 1988. “Principals, Bureaucrats, and Responsiveness in Clear Air Enforcements.” American Political Science Review 82:213–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan. 1990. “Does Politics Make a Difference at the EEOC?” American Journal of Political Science 34:503–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan, and Waterman, Richard W.. 1991. “The Dynamics of Political Control of the Bureaucracy.” American Political Science Review 85:801–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan, and Waterman, Richard W.. 1993. “The Dynamics of Political-Bureaucratic Adaptation.” American Journal of Political Science 37:497–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. Dan, and Waterman, Richard W.. 1994. Bureaucratic Dynamics: The Role of Bureaucracy in a Democracy. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Wright, Deil S. 1988. Understanding Intergovernmental Relations. 3rd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.Google Scholar
Wright, Deil S. 1996. “Information and introductory materials on ASAP (American State Administrators Project), 1964-1994.” Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photocopy.Google Scholar