Political Beliefs, Views about Technocracy, and Energy and Climate Policy Preferences

Nowlin, Matthew C.. 2020. “Political Beliefs, Views about Technocracy, and Energy and Climate Policy Preferences.” Public Understanding of Science, forthcoming, doi: 10.1177/0963662520978567

Abstract

The use of technocratic decision-making, where policy decisions are made by elite experts, is an important aspect of policymaking in the United States. However, little work has examined public opinion about technocracy. Using data from a representative sample of the United States (n = 1200), I explore differences in support for technocracy and the implications of that support for views about politically controversial energy sources and climate policies. Overall, I find that liberal Democrats, moderate/conservative Democrats, and moderate/liberal Republicans were more likely than conservative Republicans and moderate independents to support technocratic decision-making. In addition, I find that as support for technocracy increases, so does support for energy sources and climate policies; however, there are significant interaction effects across political beliefs.

Support for Energy Sources by Political Beliefs and Technocratic Views