The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior

Government Responsiveness Index 1964-2016

  '64 '66 '68 '70 '72 '74 '76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '08 '12 '16
Average Score on Index 67 78 62 63 60 55 55 58 51 34 52 ** 51 ** 55 ** 55 55 57 71 61 68 53 50

Percentage Within Study Year
Table 5C.3.

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Percent among demographic groups who responded:

Average Score on Index

Note:

The Government Responsiveness Index is constructed as follows:
Variable 622 (Table 5C.1) and variable 624 (Table 5C.2) are recoded:
Not Much=0, Some=50, A Great Deal=100.
These new scores are then totaled (Don't Know is not scored)
and the sum is divided by the number of valid responses. The result
is then rounded to the nearest integer.
The questions used are:
V622: "Over the years, how much attention do you feel the government
pays to what the people think when it decides what to do -- a good
deal, some, or not much?"
V624: "And how much do you feel that having elections makes the
government pay attention to what the people think, a good deal, some
or not much?"

2012 data are for the combined (face-to-face and internet) sample.

Return to the ANES Guide Index.