TY - JOUR
T1 - Explaining citizen-initiated contacts with municipal bureaucrats
T2 - Lessons from the Atlanta experience
AU - Thomas, John Clayton
AU - Melkers, Julia
PY - 1999/5
Y1 - 1999/5
N2 - Citizen-initiated contacts represent an important, yet perplexing, category of political participation. The authors attempt to provide a comprehensive explanation of when and why citizens initiate contacts. They draw from prior research to summarize knowledge about these contacts and the measurement problems that have plagued earlier research. To explore the bases for citizen-initiated contacts, they use survey data on contacts with various municipal departments of the city of Atlanta. Logistic regressions of 15 different types of contacts reveal perceived needs as the most consistently significant predictor of most types. The influence of socioeconomic status over contacting is indirect.
AB - Citizen-initiated contacts represent an important, yet perplexing, category of political participation. The authors attempt to provide a comprehensive explanation of when and why citizens initiate contacts. They draw from prior research to summarize knowledge about these contacts and the measurement problems that have plagued earlier research. To explore the bases for citizen-initiated contacts, they use survey data on contacts with various municipal departments of the city of Atlanta. Logistic regressions of 15 different types of contacts reveal perceived needs as the most consistently significant predictor of most types. The influence of socioeconomic status over contacting is indirect.
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U2 - 10.1177/10780879922184130
DO - 10.1177/10780879922184130
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0032780091
SN - 1078-0874
VL - 34
SP - 667
EP - 690
JO - Urban Affairs Review
JF - Urban Affairs Review
IS - 5
ER -