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Replication Data for: Presidential Approval and the Inherited Economy

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Replication Data for: Presidential Approval and the Inherited Economy
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/WK0DA7
 
Creator Sances, Michael W.
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description Are leaders held accountable for inherited conditions, and does accountability increase with time in office? I combine hundreds of opinion polls to test how new presidents are rewarded or punished for current economic perceptions, and how these judgments evolve over time. I find the economy influences voter evaluations in a president's first year, that it influences evaluations more so in the second year, and that it does not influence evaluations any more in later years. Surveys of governor approval and state economic conditions yield similar results, as does an original survey experiment exploiting the varying tenure of state governors in the wake of the 2018 elections. While raising questions about voter competence, these findings also suggest leaders have incentives to spread effort more broadly over their terms.
 
Subject Social Sciences
Accountability
Economic voting
Retrospective voting
Public opinion
Surveys
 
Contributor Sances, Michael W.
 
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