Mikael Persson
professormpersson.bsky.social
Mikael Persson
@professormpersson.bsky.social

Professor, Political Science, University of Gothenburg

Mikael Mats Robert Persson, better known by his stage name Mike Perry, is a Swedish DJ and music producer from Skövde. He is best known for his 2016 single "The Ocean" featuring vocals from Shy Martin, which peaked at number 1 on the Swedish Singles Chart. Other popular songs by Perry include "Inside the Lines", "Stay Young" and "Don't Hide". .. more

Political science 40%
Education 14%

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Thanks for sharing our paper!

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Across countries, unequal congruence between high- & low-income voters & policy is driven by status quo bias, rather than unequal abilities to achieve policy
change. high-income advantage stems largely from their satisfaction with preserving the status quo
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
<em>Policy Studies Journal</em> | PSO Public Policy Journal | Wiley Online Library
Research on unequal responsiveness has shown that policies tend to align more closely with the preferences of high-income citizens than low-income citizens. Using comparative data on opinions and pol...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Power endures not through dramatic shifts, but through the steady accumulation of small advantages that lock the status quo in place. (6)

Drawing on data from 43 countries and more than 130 policy issues, we show that high-income citizens’ advantage stems largely from their satisfaction with preserving the status quo. (5)

It is not that high-income citizens are better at achieving policy change, but that they are better at blocking reforms favored by lower-income citizens. (4)

Using comparative data on opinions and policies, we suggest that this inequality primarily results from status quo bias; asymmetric blocking power drives unequal congruence. (3)

Research on unequal responsiveness shows that policies tend to align more closely with the preferences of high-income citizens than low-income citizens. (2)

New in Policy Studies Journal:
Blocking the Poor: Status Quo Bias in Policy Congruence (with Anders Sundell) (1) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Reposted by Mikael Persson

What matters more to politicians: the quantity or quality of public opinion signals?

Find out in the new article by @bart-maes.bsky.social Stefaan Walgrave Emmi Verleyen Frédéric Varone @annerasmussen.bsky.social & @professormpersson.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...
From our latest issue: Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior by Jack Lucas et al. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Had a *fantastic* time at the Nordic Political Behavior Workshop! Great papers, engaging discussions, and super constructive feedback. Thanks so much for organizing @finseraas.bsky.social @lchristensen.bsky.social @professormpersson.bsky.social & Peter Dinesen!

The 5th Nordic Political Behavior Workshop in Trondheim! @lchristensen.bsky.social @rdassonneville.bsky.social @finseraas.bsky.social et al!

Stark duo!
📘 64.4

@jesperlindqvist.bsky.social, @professormpersson.bsky.social, W.Schakel & A.Sundell look at 🗳️ voters’ policy preferences often misalign with what they get in practice with the study showing how this “electoral connection” gap contributes to unequal outcomes

#OA

🔗
Poor choices? Examining the electoral connection behind unequal policy representation
JESPER LINDQVIST, MIKAEL PERSSON, WOUTER SCHAKEL, ANDERS SUNDELL
ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Mikael Persson

🌟Online first:

"Ideological bias in policy implementation: public opinion and policy outcomes in 43 democracies"

Research Note by @professormpersson.bsky.social & Anders Sundell

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

New paper with Anders Sundell published in West European Politics: Ideological bias in policy implementation: public opinion and policy outcomes in 43 democracies www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Ideological bias in policy implementation: public opinion and policy outcomes in 43 democracies
Previous research has documented a conservative bias in politicians’ perceptions of public opinion. Do similar biases also exist in policy implementation, relative to public opinion? In this articl...
www.tandfonline.com

📢 Call for proposals: Submit survey module ideas for inclusion in the Swedish National Election Study 2026. Deadline: Oct 31, 2025 👉 www.gu.se/en/swedish-n...
Swedish National Election Study 2026 – Call for Proposals
The next large national election study in Sweden will be conducted in conjunction with the general election in September 2026. We invite the research community to submit proposals for survey instrumen...
www.gu.se

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Reposted by Mikael Persson

Reposted by Mikael Persson

10/
Working paper here: swopec.hhs.se/ifauwp/abs/i...
Comments are welcome!
S-WoPEc: Processing macroeconomic signals: Voter responses to growth, unemployment, inflation and stock markets
swopec.hhs.se

9/
Signals are interpreted through a lens of class exposure.

Each signal carries has its specific effect.

Economic reasoning is structured, but unequally distributed.

8/
Not all voters process signals the same way:
– High-knowledge voters make more accurate and nuanced inferences
– High-income voters place more weight on stock markets
– Labor market position has surprisingly little impact

7/
– Inflation strongly affects personal/national evaluations and vote choice
– Unemployment matters for all outcomes, but less consistently
– GDP influences national more than personal assessments
– Stocks influences personal evaluations, but matters less for voting