Description
Vavreck's creative theorizing and informative historical analysis will change the way political scientists think about presidential campaigns. While giving campaign strategists their overdue due, she also sheds invaluable light on how political contexts shape their strategies and their odds of success. -- Larry M. Bartels, author of "Unequal Democracy" Lynn Vavreck's message matters. She explains how and when candidate messages can clarify distinctions and gain vote share over the course of a campaign. Moving beyond puerile arguments about whether campaigns matter, Vavreck identifies critical differences among issues--and between incumbents and challengers--that determine which messages are persuasive. -- Samuel L. Popkin, University of California, San Diego I have not read a book of comparable elegance of argument and mastery of analysis in years. It is outstanding on three dimensions. In its combination of analytical depth and economy, it is a model for research on election campaigns. In its fusion of theory and empirics, it is a model for research in political science. In its principled, persistent, ingenious efforts to turn up evidence against its own hypotheses, it is a model for the social sciences. -- Paul M. Sniderman, Stanford University Professor Vavreck shows, for the first time, how the economy plays for or against political candidates in the context of their campaigns. The work is a monumental theoretical and empirical achievement that promises to become a political science classic. -- Michael S. Lewis-Beck, author of "Economics and Elections" A pathbreaking contribution to the study of American politics, The Message Matters provides new insights into how campaigns affect the magnitude of the economic vote. It will be required reading for anyone doing serious work in the field of campaigns. -- Raymond Duch, Nuffield College, University of Oxford
About the Author
Lynn Vavreck is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is coeditor of "Campaign Reform: Insights and Evidence" and coprincipal investigator of the Cooperative Campaign Analysis Project.
Reviews
"This is not just another book about the impact of the economy on elections. The Message Matters breaks new ground in showing how presidential candidates effectively use the economy when it works in their favor and how some candidates win even when the economy is working against them."--Stanley B. Greenberg, American Prospect "Lucid writing sheds light on a subject often neglected, and readers can glean some useful information."--Choice "This is an impressive book. Vavreck's main contributions are to offer a coherent theory of how economic context should condition campaign effects, to document what types of campaigns presidential candidates have run, and to show that those candidates running the campaigns she suggests have influenced the election in their favor."--Jonathan Nagler, Political Science Quarterly "Vavreck's book is an interesting and very readable contribution for people with an interest in media and election studies. The themes candidates use within American election cycles are now much better illuminated and Vavreck opens the door for a host of exciting analyses that will likely be built on The Message Matters' foundation."--Anders B. Rasmussen, MedieKultur
Book Information
ISBN 9780691139630
Author Lynn Vavreck
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press
Weight(grams) 340g