Economic Frames
This project, directed by Professor Mark Smith, seeks to explain the
largely unnoticed growth from World War II to the present of economic
reasoning by which politicians advocate policy proposals. The project
identifies structural changes in the labor market that have brought economic
insecurity, particularly to those in the lower and middle parts of the
income distribution, as a driving force for the evolution of politicians'
rhetoric. Amplified by heightened mass media attention to the economy,
Americans' experiences in the labor market have increased their receptiveness
to political messages that emphasize economic grounds for choosing policies.
Among other things, the research involves classifying governors' state-of-the-state
speeches over a fifty-year period according to the emphasis given to
the economy and the kinds of policies justified with economic rationales.
In an analysis of how policy debates have changed over time, those rationales
are linked to indicators of economic insecurity and news coverage of
the economy.
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