Administrators vs. Politicians: Blame Shifting in US Policy Perception

Does identifying a specific administrator responsible for policy outcomes shift voter blame away from politicians? This study investigates how citizens attribute responsibility when faced with complex federal programs like Small Business Administration loans and USDA inspections.

Findings:

• Evaluability of negative outcomes reduces voting intention, but identifiability of administrators mitigates this effect by shifting culpability.
• Survey experiments show that knowing a dedicated policy worker increases voter willingness to overlook political failures.

Why This Matters:

These results suggest citizens may strategically disclaim politicians' direct involvement in policy implementation when they perceive agency administrators as distinct actors. This highlights the importance of actor identity for political accountability and blame avoidance.