Patterns of Representation: Dynamics of Public Preferences and Policy Christopher Wlezien University of Oxford Much research shows that politicians represent public preferences in public policy. Although we know that there is representation, we do not understand the nature of the relationship in different policy areas. We do not know whether and to what extent representation varies across domains. Even where we find representation, we do not know what policy makers actually represent. This article explicitly addresses these issues, focusing on a set of nine spending domains in the United States. At the heart of the article is a simple conjecture: representation varies across domains, and the pattern is sym- metrical to the pattern of public responsiveness to budgetary policy itself. Analysis of the relation- ships between opinion and policy over time in the different spending domains supports the conjecture. The patterns fit quite nicely with what we know about the influence of different issues on voting behavior in American national elections. Based on this analysis, then, it appears that politicians’ responsiveness to public preferences reflects the public importance of different policy domains. A large and growing body of research exists that demonstrates a correspon- dence between public opinion and policy behavior (e.g., Bartels 1991; Erikson, MacKuen, and Stimson 2002; Erikson, Wright, and McIver 1993; Goggin and Wlezien 1993; Hartley and Russett 1992; Hill and Hurley 1998; Jacobs 1993; McCrone and Kuklinski 1979; Miller and Stokes 1963; Monroe 1979, 1998; Page and Shapiro 1983, 1992; Sharpe 1999; Smith 1998; Stimson, MacKuen, and Erikson 1995; Weissberg 1976; Wlezien 1996a; Wood and Hinton Andersson 1998). Some of the research even suggests that policy makers respond to chang- ing public preferences over time (especially Jacobs 1993; Stimson, MacKuen, and Erikson 1995; Wlezien 1996a). Clearly, this work is satisfying and impor- tant, for it indicates that there is representation—policy behavior is related to opinion, both cross-sectionally and over time. The body of research provides very general parameters of representation. We know that policy makers represent opinion. However, we do not understand the nature of this representation in different domains. To begin with, we do not know whether and to what extent representation varies across policy areas. Are policy makers equally responsive to opinion in the different areas? Or are they more responsive in some areas than in others? Even in policy areas where we detect representation, we do not know what policy makers represent. Do they THE JOURNAL OF POLITICS, Vol. 66, No. 1, February 2004, Pp. 1–24 © 2004 Southern Political Science Association