How Language Works in Politics: The Impact of Vague Legislation on Policy by Matthew Williams

Author:Matthew Williams [Williams, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781447335757
Google: TyWZswEACAAJ
Goodreads: 36377309
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 2018-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Diagnostics

The same assumptions that apply to OLS regressions, also apply to DD analysis. DD analysis is parametric, relying on the assumptions of a normal distribution of errors, the conditional independence of cause and effect, stationarity in time series, and no multicollinearity between explanatory variables. First, with regards to normality, the universe of data on all 44 local authorities was used to avoid possible biases that could have been introduced by random or stratified sampling techniques. Nonetheless, heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors are reported, in recognition that different local authorities will likely have different degrees of error variance. Second, with regard to endogeneity, the conditional independence of cause and effect is theoretically plausible, in that the recognition of individuals as in priority need will not cause the adoption of new language in policy, at least within the time frame of the data analysed. Of course, it is possible, even probable, that implementing homelessness policy will inform the language used in future policymaking, so complete independence of cause and effect cannot be guaranteed. Some variables were not considered for inclusion in the models because of the likelihood of voiding the conditional independence assumption. For instance, crime rates could not be used as a predictor of changes in the recognition rate for fleeing violence. This would be akin to using violence to predict those recognised as fleeing violence. It would mean having the same term on either side of the equation. Furthermore, with regards to endogeneity, it is important to consider why England and Wales adopted the different language in the first place. The language is not just causative, but symptomatic of the Welsh government’s insistence that local authorities strictly apply their duty to recognise priority need. According to a recent report (BBC 2016), Wales is leading the way on homelessness provision in the UK. There is clearly a stronger policy commitment in Wales than across the border. Of course, the different origins of the language matter, but it is only with PSM and DD that we can observe just how far the language of legislation affects bureaucratic drift, which is ultimately the aim here.

Table 5.1: Descriptive statistics for all variables

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