
For the Many or the Few
The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy
John G. Matsusaka(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 15. September 2004
Book
Hardback
206 pages
978-0-226-51081-1 (ISBN)
Description
Direct democracy continues to grow in importance throughout the United States. Citizens are increasingly using initiatives and referendums to take the law into their own hands, overriding their elected officials to set tax, expenditure, and social policies. John G. Matsusaka's "For the Many or the Few" studies a century of budget data from states and cities to provide the first comprehensive, empirical picture of how direct democracy is changing government policies.Matsusaka argues against the popular belief that initiatives empower wealthy special interest groups that neglect the majority view. Examining demographic, political, and opinion data, he demonstrates how initiatives led to significant tax and expenditure cuts over the last thirty years and that these cuts were supported by a majority of citizens. He concludes that, by and large, direct democracy in the United States has worked for the benefit of the many rather than the few.
Reviews / Votes
"For the Many or the Few is a valuable contribution to our understanding of American democratic institutions and public policy and an important book." - Journal of Politics "John G. Matsusaka's valuable, accessible book represents one of the few studies that attempt to test how policy outcomes are affected by the initiative process and to examine whether policies produced by the initiative reflect what the public actually wants." - Political Science Quarterly"More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 17 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-51081-1 (9780226510811)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2008
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€33.39
Available for download
Person
John G. Matsusaka is a professor in the Marshall School of Business, Gould School of Law, and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Southern California. He is also president of the Initiative Referendum Institute.