I recently read and presented on Larry M. Bartels’ 2008 book, Unequal Democracy in a class that I’m taking this semester. I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone  interested in policy, political science, or inequality. I was particularly struck by Bartels’ ability to translate complex quantitative models into a story about partisan differences in economic policy that anyone can understand.

Bartels uses concrete data and advanced statistical methods to show that there has been a consistent trend in the United States where low and middle-income individuals fared better economically under Democratic administrations, while only the affluent benefited under Republican administrations. He shows that this is not a coincidence; the income disparity under Republicans and Democrats is larger than what would be observed by chance, or due to exogenous events. He uses time-series data, multiple regression, probits, and other methods familiar only to those who have taken a course in advanced quantitative methods, but he uses those methods to tell an artful story that seems to engage the reader, regardless of his or her training in statistical models.

For me, this book touched on an issue that I deal with regularly as a policy scholar who is also concerned about government transparency and civic participation. As quantitative models for understanding social phenomena become increasingly complex, how can we ensure that citizens remain engaged in the discussions about policy alternatives?  Is there a way to make in-depth quantitative analyses comprehensible to the general public, and do we as policy scholars have an ethical obligation to be transparent in our analyses?

Certainly, there is a role to be played by our education system. If citizens do not have a basic understanding of social science, government, and the scientific method; it seems unlikely that they will be able to understand or think critically about any policy proposal. Journalism schools could also play a role by training their students how to evaluate research design and methods when comparing social science analyses. However, Bartels provides policy and political scholars with a good example of how to translate a complex quantitative analysis for a wider audience.