Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-bp2c4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-17T12:44:00.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Politics of Blame Avoidance*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

R. Kent Weaver
R. Kent Weaver
Affiliation:
Governmental Studies, The Brookings Institution
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Politicians are motivated primarily by the desire to avoid blame for unpopular actions rather than by seeking to claim credit for popular ones. This results from voters' ‘negativity bias’: their tendency to be more sensitive to real or potential losses than they are to gains. Incentives to avoid blame lead politicians to adopt a distinctive set of political strategies, including agenda limitation, scapegoating, ‘passing the buck’ and defection (‘jumping on the bandwagon’) that are different than those they would follow if they were primarily interested in pursuing good policy or maximizing credit-claiming opportunities. These strategies in turn lead to important policy effects, including a surrender of discretion even when it offers important credit-claiming opportunities.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , October 1986 , pp. 371 - 398
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Bloom, Howard S., and Price, H. Douglas (1975) ‘Voter Response to Short-Run Economic Conditions: The Asymmetric Effect of Prosperity and Recession,’ American Political Science Review, 69 (December) 1240–1254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cain, Bruce E. (1983) ‘Blessed be the Tie that Unbinds: Constituency Work and the Vote Swing in Great Britain,’ Political Studies, 31,1 (March) 103–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, James E. (1983) ‘Ambiguity in the Issue Positions of Presidential Candidates: A Causal Analysis,’ American Journal of Political Science, 27 (May) 284–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derthick, Martha (1979) Policymaking for Social Security. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony (1956) An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Ellsberg, Daniel (1971) ‘The Quagmire Myth and the Stalemate Machine,’ Public Policy, 19 (Spring) 217–274.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. (1973) Congressmen in Committees. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. (1978) Home Style: House Members in their Districts. Boston: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Ferejohn, John A., and Fiorina, Morris P. (1985) ‘Incumbency and Realignment in Congressional Elections,’ in Chubb, John and Peterson, Paul (eds.) The New Direction in American Politics. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 91–115.Google Scholar
Feucrbringer, Jonathon (1986) ‘House Supports Use of Military to Fight Drugs,’ New York Times, September 12.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. (1977) Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. (1981) Retrospective Voting in American National Elections. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. (1982) ‘Legislative Choice of Regulatory Forms: Legal Processor Administrative Process?,’ Public Choice, 39 33–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P. and Shepsle, Kenneth A. (1986) ‘Negative Voting: An Explanation Based on Principal-Agent Theory,’ St. Louis, Washington University Political Economy Working Paper 108.Google Scholar
Hibbing, John R., and Alford, John R. (1981) ‘The Electoral Impact of Economic Conditions: Who Is Held Responsible?,’ American Journal of Political Science, 25 (08) 423–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, Robert J. (1968) Rebels and Whips: An Analysis of Dissension, Discipline and Cohesion in British Political Parties, London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Jonung, Lars (1985) ‘Business Cycles and Political Changes in Sweden,’ Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Quarterly Review, 2 2–15.Google Scholar
Kahneman, Daniel, and Tversky, Amos (1984) ‘Choices, Values and Frames,’ American Psychologist, 39 (04) 341–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kcrnell, Samuel (1977) ‘Presidential Popularity and Negative Voting: An Alternative Explanation of the Midterm Congressional Decline of the President's Party,’ American Political Science Review, 72 (June) 44–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V. O. Jr. (1966) The Responsible Electorate: Rationality in Presidential Voting, 1936–1060. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinder, Donald R., and Kiewiet, D. Roderick (1979) ‘EconomicJudgements and Political Behavior: The Role of Personal Grievances and Collective Economic Judgements in Congressional Voting,’ American Journal of Political Science 23 (08) 495–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lau, Richard R. (1985) ‘Two Explanations for Negativity Effects in Political Behavior,’ American Journal of Political Science, 29 (02) 119–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lau, Richard R., AND Sears, David O. (1981) ‘Cognitive Links Between Economic Grievances and Political Responses,’ Political Behavior. 3,4 279–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leman, Christopher K. (1980) ‘How to Get There from Here: The Grandfather Effect and Public Policy,’ Policy Analysis. 6 (Winter) 99–116.Google Scholar
Lybeck, Johan A. (1985) ‘A Simultaneous Model of Politico-economic Interaction in Sweden, 1970–1982,’ European Journal of Political Research. 13 135–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayhew, David (1974) Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Oleszek, Walter J. (1984) Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process (second ed.). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Olson, Mancur (1965) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, Benjamin I. (1976) ‘The Theory of Political Ambiguity,’ American Political Science Review, 70 (1976)742–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, Benjamin I., and Brody, Richard (1972) ‘Policy Voting and the Electoral Process: the Vietnam War Issue,’ American Political Science Review. 66 (09) 979–995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paldam, M., and Schneider, F. (1980) ‘The Macroeconomic Aspects of Government and Opposition Popularity in Denmark, 1957–1978,’ Nationalokonomisk Tidskrift, 118 149–170.Google Scholar
Price, David E. (1977) ‘Policymaking in Congressional Committees: The Impact of “Environmental Factors,”’ American Political Science Review 71 (03) 548–574.Google Scholar
Richardson, J. J. and Moon, Jeremy (1984) ‘The Politics of Unemployment in Britain,’ Political Quarterly, 55,1 (01–03) 29–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riker, William (1986) The Art of Political Manipulation. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard (1984) Do Parties Make a Difference? (2cd ed.). London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rovner, Julie (1986) ‘House Passes $6 Billion Anti-Drug Package,’ Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, September 13 2125–2126.Google Scholar
Sears, David O., and Lau, Richard R. (1983) ‘Inducing Apparently Self-interested Political Preferences,’ American Journal of Political Science, 27 (May) 223–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A. (1972) ‘The Strategy of Ambiguity: Uncertainty and Electoral Competition,’ American Political Science Review, 66 (June) 555–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A., and Weingast, Barry R. (1981) ‘Political Preferences for the Pork Barrel: A Generalization,’ American Journal of Political Science. 25 (02) 96–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Stephen S. (1986) ‘Revolution in the House: Why Don't We Do It on the Floor?’ Brookings Discussion Papers in Governmental Studies #5, September 1986.Google Scholar
Stockman, David A. (1986) The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Thomas, Martin (1985) ‘Election Proximity and Senatorial Roll Call Voting,’ American Journal of Political Science, 29 (February) 96–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tufte, Edward (1978) Political Control of the Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weatherford, M. Stephen (1978) ‘Economic Conditions and Electoral Outcomes: Class Differences in the Political Responses to Recession,’ American Journal of Political Science. 22,4 (11) 917–938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wcatherford, M. Stephen (1983) Economic Voting and the ‘Symbolic Politics’ Argument: A Reinterpretation and Synthesis,’ American Political Science Review. 77,1 (03) 158–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, R. Kent (1985) ‘Are Parliamentary Systems Better?,’ The Brookings Review. 3,4 (Summer) 16–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, R. Kent (1987) ‘Political Foundations of Swedish Economic Policy,’ in Bosworth, Barry and Rivlin, Alice (eds.) The Swedish Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 289–317.Google Scholar
Whalen, Charles and Whalen, Barbara (1985) The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. New York: Mentor.Google Scholar
Wildavsky, Aaron (1980) How to Limit Government Spending, Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Wright, Gerald C. Jr., (1977) ‘Constituency Responses to Congressional Behavior: The Impact of the House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Votes,’ Western Political Quarterly, 30,3 (09) 401–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar