| Previous work on policymaking is often limited to a specific case, policy domain, or point in time. Moreover, few scholars incorporate more than one mode of influence in their models. This dissertation extends scholarship on policymaking by looking at two different policy domains, over time, and includes three key forms of influence: presidential authority, mass opinion, and the media. Specifically, this dissertation investigates how mass opinion, elite influence, and media representations influenced crime and health care policy in the United States between 1977 and 2006. Results suggest that the media and public opinion concerning crime and health care tend to be more influential in determining federal spending and legislative outcomes than presidential authority is alone. There are constraints on presidential authority at various points in time. Additionally, the data also reveal variation in levels of influence across policy domain. |
