How perceptions of voter control affect politicians’ evaluations of expertise in the news: a survey experiment on the role of accountability beliefs

Abstract

Background:Political scientists have repeatedly argued that politicians’ behaviour can be influenced by their beliefs about their constituents’ ability to hold them accountable. Yet, how such accountability beliefs affect politicians’ information processing or behaviour remains understudied. Aims and objectives:I investigate how accountability beliefs influence information processing of members of parliament (MPs). I analyse whether MPs, who believe that their voters can hold them accountable, evaluate expertise in the news differently than their colleagues, who perceive less voter control. Method:I rely on original data from a survey experiment carried out among 1,191 Swiss MPs. In the experiment, MPs evaluated expert statements in the news on health policy issues that varied regarding the source, the evidence base and the degree of advocacy. I then analyse how these evaluations vary, depending on MPs’ accountability beliefs. Findings:Accountability beliefs indeed affect evaluations of expert credibility: MPs with strong accountability beliefs tend to be not only more sceptical about experts, who may be deemed biased (corporation experts), they also perceive experts advocating for specific policy solutions less negatively. However, contrary to expectations, MPs with strong accountability beliefs prefer experts using an opinion-based instead of an evidence-based language, at least on some issues. Discussion and conclusion:This paper highlights the importance of accountability beliefs when seeking to understand how MPs evaluate and eventually use expertise in the news. However, it also suggests that these relationships warrant further investigation across different political issues and geopolitical contexts.