Fixing a Faulty Thermostat: A Replication and re-Analysis of "The Public as Thermostat” Employing a Fixed-effects Model

Abstract

In a 1995 AJPS article, Christopher Wlezien advanced the notion that the public acts in an Eastonian manner as a thermostat for shaping policy preferences. I assert Wleziens use of a GLS-ARMA approach may be a true mis-specification problem. I propose the use of a fixed-effects model. Using both the older version of MICROCRUNCH and the newer version of RATS, I test Wleziens models and his hypotheses. The results in MICROCRUNCH are somewhat different from the original, whilst the results from RATS suggest that the findings of Wlezien are not nearly as significant as assumed.