Does process matter? Experimental evidence on the effect of procedural fairness on citizens’ evaluations of policy outcomes
| Author | Aaron Martin,Gosia Mikołajczak,Raymond Orr |
| Published date | 01 January 2022 |
| Date | 01 January 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512120908874 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512120908874
International Political Science Review
2022, Vol. 43(1) 103 –117
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512120908874
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Does process matter? Experimental
evidence on the effect of procedural
fairness on citizens’ evaluations of
policy outcomes
Aaron Martin
Gosia Mikołajczak
University of Melbourne, Australia
Raymond Orr
University of Oklahoma, USA
Abstract
One of the key factors distinguishing democracies from non-democracies is the process by which political
decisions are made. Central to democratic thought is the idea that policy made in a procedurally fair manner is
more legitimate than policy that violates central tenets of procedural fairness. A large number of studies from
social psychology show that procedural fairness matters in citizens’ evaluations of the success and legitimacy
of various outcomes. Despite this observation, most political science literature focuses on the outcomes
rather than the process of policy-making. Using survey experiments we find that procedural arrangements
are an important factor in citizens’ judgement of policy outcomes. Specifically, we find that fair procedural
arrangements increase outcome legitimacy to the extent that citizens perceive them to be fairer. Our findings
suggest that policy-makers need to pay more attention to procedural arrangements when designing policies.
Keywords
Procedural fairness, fairness perceptions, policy evaluations, experimental methods, legitimacy, political
trust
Introduction
One of the key factors distinguishing democracies from non-democracies is the process by which
political decisions are made. Central to democratic thought is the idea that policy made in an
Corresponding author:
Aaron Martin, School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne, John Medley Building, Melbourne,
VIC 3010, Australia.
Email: aaron.martin@unimelb.edu.au
908874IPS0010.1177/0192512120908874International Political Science ReviewMartin et al.
research-article2020
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