Political beliefs, views about technocracy, and energy and climate policy preferences. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nowlin, Matthew C.
• Is Part Of: Public understanding of science. Volume 30:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 331
• Page End: 348
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: climate change -- energy policy -- public opinion -- technocracy; Science news -- Periodicals; Science -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 303.483
• DOI: 10.1177/0963662520978567
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-6625

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.