The Origins and Consequences of Democratic Citizens' Policy Agendas: A Study of Popular Concern About Global Warming

At any moment in history, large democratic nations face many complex problems, and no government can make significant headway in addressing all of them simultaneously. Consequently, choices must be made about how to allocate legislative attention. These decisions are shaped by many forces, including statistical indicators of national conditions, dramatic “focusing events” that call attention to those conditions, lobbying efforts by interest groups, the development of innovative technological solutions to long-standing social problems, and more