Evaluating Excuses: How the Public Judges Noncompliance

Public officials often make policy but delegate its implementation. Yet, for reasons ranging from intransigence to incompetence, those tasked with implementation may not faithfully implement policies. If implementors can frame noncompliance in a way that engenders sympathy, they may be able to disrupt the policymaking process with limited public backlash. We examine if the public's willingness to excuse noncompliance varies with the implementing actor's stated rationale for its failing to carry out the policy. Drawing on a survey experiment fielded in Germany, we find that the public is more sympathetic to resource-based, rather than principled, justifications for noncompliance, though the size of the effect is small. Further, contrary to fears that the pandemic would decay democratic functioning by leading citizens to be more forgiving of emergency-based inaction, we find no evidence that the public is more accepting of noncompliance justified on the base of the pandemic.

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Work Title Evaluating Excuses: How the Public Judges Noncompliance
Subtitle How the Public Judges Noncompliance
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Amanda Driscoll
  2. Jay Krehbiel
  3. Michael Nelson
  4. Taran Samarth
Keyword
  1. noncompliance
  2. policy implementation
  3. COVID-19
  4. federalism
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration
Publication Date November 28, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.30636/jbpa.61.341
Related URLs
Deposited September 16, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added JBPA_DKNS_Schools__Accepted__V1.pdf
  • Added Creator Amanda Driscoll
  • Added Creator Jay Krehbiel
  • Added Creator Michael Nelson
  • Added Creator Taran Samarth
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword Show Changes
    Keyword
    • noncompliance, policy implementation, COVID-19, federalism
  • Updated Related URLs, Publication Date Show Changes
    Related URLs
    • https://journal-bpa.org/index.php/jbpa/article/view/341
    Publication Date
    • 2023-11-01
    • 2023-11-28
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • Evaluating Excuses
    • Evaluating Excuses: How the Public Judges Noncompliance