Research – Peter K. Enns | Professor, Cornell University

Featured Books

Hijacking the Agenda

Economic Power and Political Influence. New York. Russell Sage Foundation. 2021. With Chris Witko, Nate Kelly, and Jana Morgan.

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Winner of the 2022 Gladys M. Kammerer Award presented by the American Political Science Association to honor the best book published during the previous calendar year in the field of U.S. national policy.

Reviewed in PSQ and Perspectives on Politics.

“To know who governs, we must know who controls the governing agenda. In this innovative book, four top political scientists show that the congressional agenda is disproportionately shaped by economic elites and the politicians most friendly to and funded by them. Combining sophisticated quantitative analysis and compelling case studies, Hijacking the Agenda sets a new standard for research on inequality and American democracy—and sounds a loud warning that all scholars and citizens should hear.”

—JACOB HACKER, Stanley Resor Professor of Political Science, Yale University

Incarceration Nation

How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World. New York. Cambridge University Press. 2016.

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Who Gets Represented

Edited with Christopher Wlezien. New York. Russell Sage Foundation. 2011.

Table of Contents//Contributors//Chapter 1//Replication Data for Chapter 1

You can preview the book here: WGR?

Read a review in Public Opinion Quarterly: [PDF] [POQ]

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Mass Incarceration and the Judicial System

1. Public Responsiveness to Declining Crime Rates in the United States and England and Wales (2022)

Enns, Peter K., Jaocb Harris, John Kenny, Andra Roescu, and Will Jennings. 2022. “Public Responsiveness to Declining Crime Rates in the United States and England and Wales.” British Journal of Criminology. 62(5): 1093-1115. [BJC]

2. What Percentage of Americans Have Ever Had a Family Member Incarcerated? (2019)

Enns, Peter K., Youngmin Yi, Megan Comfort, Alyssa Goldman, Hedwig Lee, Christopher Muller, Sara Wakefield, Emily A. Wang, and Christopher Wildeman. 2019. “What Percentage of Americans Have Ever Had a Family Member Incarcerated? Evidence from the Family History of Incarceration Survey (FamHIS).” Socius. Vol.5: 1-45. [Socius] [PDF]

- - Also see FWD.us Report, Washington Post, BBC, Prison Legal News, Smithsonian Magazine, HowStuffWorks, Gizmodo, Cornell Chronicle, and USA Today.
  - Data

3. Privatizing Punishment: Testing theories of public support for private prison and immigration detention facilities (2018)

Enns, Peter K. and Mark D. Ramirez. 2018. “Privatizing Punishment: Testing theories of public support for private prison and immigration detention facilities.“ Criminology. 56(3): 546-573. [Criminology] [PDF]

4. Making Sense of the Supreme Court-Public Opinion Relationship (2018)

Enns, Peter K. and Patrick C. Wohlfarth. 2018. “Making Sense of the Supreme Court-Public Opinion Relationship.” In Handbook of Judicial Behavior. eds. Robert M. Howard and Kirk Randazzo. Routledge Press. [Ch.] [Preprint]

5. Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World (2016)

Enns, Peter K. 2016. Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World. New York: Cambridge University Press.

6. The Great Recession and State Criminal Justice Policy (2015)

Enns, Peter K. and Delphia Shanks-Booth. 2015. “The Great Recession and State Criminal Justice Policy: Do Economic Hard Times Matter.” Russell Sage Foundation Great Recession Brief. [RSF] [PDF]

7. The Public's Increasing Punitiveness and Its Influence on Mass Incarceration in the United States (2014)

Enns, Peter K. 2014. “The Public’s Increasing Punitiveness and Its Influence on Mass Incarceration in the United States.” American Journal of Political Science. 58(4): 857-872. [PDF] [AJPS]

- - Featured in The Dish, The LSE American Politics and Policy, National Affairs, and The Monkey Cage.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

8. The Swing Justice (2013)

Enns, Peter K. and Patrick Wohlfarth. 2013. “The Swing Justice.” Journal of Politics. 75(4): 1089-1107. [PDF] [JOP]

- - Featured in The Monkey Cage, JOTWELL, and the Cornell Chronicle.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

9. How Public Opinion Constrains the U.S. Supreme Court (2011)

Casillas, Christopher, Peter K. Enns, and Patrick Wohlfarth. 2011. “How Public Opinion Constrains the U.S. Supreme Court.” The American Journal of Political Science 55(1): 74-88. [PDF] [AJPS]

- - Featured in FiveThirtyEight, The Atlantic, the Cornell Chronicle, and the Shorenstein Center.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

Inequality and Representation

1. Reconsidering Representation: How the Same Data Can Produce Divergent Conclusions (2022)

Enns, Peter K. 2022 “Reconsidering Representation: How the Same Data Can Produce Diverge about the Quality of Democratic Responsiveness in the United States.” in Contested Representation: Challenges, Shortcomings and Reforms. Eds. Claudia Landwehr, Thomas Saalfeld, and Armin Schafer. New York: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter]

2. Inequality and Misperceptions of Group Concerns Threaten the Integrity and Societal Impact of Science (2022)

Schuldt, Jonathon P., Adam R. Pearson, Neil A. Lewis, Jr., Ashley Jardina, and Peter K. Enns. 2022. “Inequality and Misperceptions of Group Concerns Threaten the Integrity and Societal Impact of Science.” The ANNALS of the American Academic of Political and Social Science. 700(1): 195-207. [AAPSS] [PDF]

- - Featured in the Cornell Chronicle.

3. Hijacking the Agenda: Economic Power and Political Influence (2021)

Witko, Christopher, Jana Morgan, Nathan J. Kelly, and Peter K. Enns. 2021. Hijacking the Agenda: Economic Power and Political Influence. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Winner of the 2022 Gladys M. Kammerer Award presented by the American Political Science Association to honor the best book published during the previous calendar year in the field of U.S. national policy.
Featured in The Hill, 3Streams, Cornell Chronicle, Penn State News, the Patriot News, and the New Books Network Podcast.
Reviewed in PSQ and Perspectives on Politics.

4. Comment on Support for Redistribution in an Age of Rising Inequality (2015)

Enns, Peter K. 2015. “Comment on `Support for Redistribution in an Age of Rising Inequality’.” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Spring: 406-417. [BPEA] [PDF]

5. Relative Policy Support and Coincidental Representation (2015)

Enns, Peter K. 2015. “Relative Policy Support and Coincidental Representation.” Perspectives on Politics. 13(4): 1053-1064. [PDF] [Perspectives]

- - Featured in Vox, Washington Monthly, and Bloomberg.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

6. Reconsidering the Middle: A Reply to Martin Gilens (2015)

Enns, Peter K. 2015. “Reconsidering the Middle: A Reply to Martin Gilens.” Perspectives on Politics. 13(4): 1072-1074. [PDF] [Perspectives]

7. Conditional Status Quo Bias and Top Income Shares (2014)

Enns, Peter K., Nate Kelly, Jana Morgan, Thomas Volscho, and Chris Witko. 2014. “Conditional Status Quo Bias and Top Income Shares: How U.S. Political Institutions Have Benefited the Rich.“ Journal of Politics. 76(2): 1-15. [PDF] [JOP]

- - Featured in TPM, the Cornell Chronicle, The Monkey Cage, The LSE American Politics and Policy. and Scholars Strategy Network.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

8. Who Gets Represented? (2011)

Enns, Peter K. and Christopher Wlezien (Eds). Who Gets Represented? New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

[Chapter 1 : Group Opinion and the Study of Representation]

9. Inequality and the Dynamics of Public Opinion (2010)

Kelly, Nathan J. and Peter K. Enns. 2010. “Inequality and the Dynamics of Public Opinion: The Self-Reinforcing Link Between Economic Inequality and Mass Preferences.” The American Journal of Political Science 54(4): 855-870. [PDF] [AJPS]

- - - Featured in the Christian Science Monitor (cover story), The Monkey Cage here and here, The Huffington Post here and here, CQ Researcher, the Cornell Chronicle, the NYT, Vox, and The New Yorker.
    - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

Public Opinion and Political Behavior

1. A Validation and Extension of State-Level Public Policy Mood: 1956-2020 (2022)

Lagodny, Julius, Rebekah Jones, Julianna Koch, and Peter K. Enns. 2022. “A Validation and Extension of State-Level Policy Mood.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Forthcoming. [SPPQ]

Data available here.

2. Do You Know Where Your Survey Data Come From? (2022)

Enns, Peter K. and Jake Rothschild. 2022. “Do You Know Where Your Survey Data Come From” 3Streams. (May 2).

3. Rethinking Joe Biden's "Resurgence" (2021)

Enns, Peter K. and Jonathon P. Schuldt. 2021. “Rethinking Joe Biden’s `Resurgence'” in The 2020 Democratic Primary, eds. Luke Perry. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. [Chapter] [Pre-print]

4. Complicating the Role of White Racial Attitudes and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the 2016 US Presidential Election (2021)

Enns, Peter K. and Ashley Jardina. 2021 “Complicating the Role of White Racial Attitudes and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the 2016 US Presidential Election” Public Opinion Quarterly. 85(2): 539-570. [POQ] [PDF]

Featured in the New York Times and FiveThirtyEight here and here.

5. Using Election Forecasts to Understand the Potential Influence of Campaigns, Media, and the Law in U.S. Presidential Elections (2021)

Enns, Peter K. and Julius Lagodny. 2021. “Using Election Forecasts to Understand the Potential Influence of Campaigns, Media, and the Law in U.S. Presidential Elections” University of Miami Law Review. 75(2): 509-546. [PDF] [UMLR]

6. Forecasting the 2020 Electoral College Winner (2020)

Enns, Peter K. and Julius Lagodny. 2021. “Forecasting the 2020 Electoral College Winner: The State Presidential Approval/State Economy Model” PS: Political Science & Politics. 54(1): 81-85. [PDF] [PS] [Online Appendix]

- - Featured in the Washington Post.

7. Shifting views on global warming and climate change in the United States (2020)

Schuldt, Jonathon P., Peter K. Enns, Sara Konrath, and Norbert Schwarz. 2020. “Shifting views on `global warming’ and `climate change’ in the United States” Journal of Environmental Psychology. 69: 1-3. [JEP] [PDF]

- - Data and Replication

8. Economic Evaluations and Political Change in Chile, 1966 to 2018 (2019)

Enns, Peter K. and Jose T Sanchez Gomez. 2019. “Economic Evaluations and Political Change in Chile, 1966 to 2018.” Public Opinion Quarterly. 83(3): 627–639. [POQ] [PDF]

9. Understanding the 2016 US Presidential Polls (2017)

Enns, Peter K., Julius Lagodny, and Jonathon P. Schuldt. 2017. “Understanding the 2016 US Presidential Polls: The Importance of Hidden Trump Supporters.” Statistics, Politics and Policy. 8(1):41-63. [SPP] [PDF]

- - Featured in the Washington Post.

10. Evidence that the US public continues to doubt `global warming' more than `climate change' (2017)

Schuldt, Jonathon P., Peter K. Enns, and Victoria Cavaliere. 2017. “Does the label really matter? Evidence that the US public continues to doubt `global warming’ more than `climate change.'” Climatic Change. 143(1-2): 271-280. [CC] [PDF]

- - Featured in the Huffington Post, Reuters, and the Cornell Chronicle.

11. Did Moderates Help Elect Trump? (2016)

Enns, Peter K. and Jonathon P. Schuldt. 2016. “Did Moderates Help Elect Trump?” New York Times. Nov. 16.

12. Are There Really Hidden Trump Voters? (2016)

Enns, Peter K. and Jonathon P. Schuldt. 2016. “Are There Really Hidden Trump Voters?” New York Times. Nov. 7.

13. State Policy Mood: The Importance of Over-Time Dynamics (2015)

Enns, Peter K. and Julianna Koch. 2015. “State Policy Mood: The Importance of Over-Time Dynamics.“ State Politics and Policy Quarterly. 15(4): 436-446. [PDF] [SPPQ]

- - Supplementary Information File
  - Replication Data

14. Public Opinion in the U.S. States: 1956 to 2010 (2013)

Enns, Peter K. and Julianna Koch. 2013. “Public Opinion in the U.S. States: 1956 to 2010.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly. 13(3): 349-372. [PDF] [SPPQ]

- - Winner of the Allan Saxe Award for the best paper on state and local politics presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Political Science Association.
  - Featured in The Monkey Cage.
  - State Opinion Data // Supplementary Information File

15. Presidential Campaigns and the Fundamentals Reconsidered (2013)

Enns, Peter K. and Brian Richman. 2013. “Presidential Campaigns and the Fundamentals Reconsidered.” Journal of Politics 75(3): 803-820. [PDF] [JOP]

- - Featured in The LSE American Politics and Policy, the Cornell Chronicle, the Cornell Daily Sun, and EZRA.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data // Codebook // California’s 2000 Voter Information Guide

16. The Consequences of Partisanship in Economic Perceptions (2012)

Enns, Peter K., Paul M. Kellstedt, and Gregory E. McAvoy. 2012. “The Consequences of Partisanship in Economic Perceptions.” Public Opinion Quarterly 76(2): 287-310. [PDF] [POQ]

- - Featured in The Monkey Cage, TIME Magazine, and BuzzFeed Politics.
  - Supplementary Information File // Replication Data

17. The Role of Partisanship in Aggregate Opinion (2012)

Enns, Peter K. and Gregory E. McAvoy. 2012. “The Role of Partisanship in Aggregate Opinion.” Political Behavior 34(4): 627-651. [PDF] [PB]

- - Featured in The New York Times.
  - Replication Data

18. Using Approval of the President's Handling of the Economy to Understand Who Polarizes and Why (2010)

McAvoy, Gregory E. and Peter K. Enns. 2010. “Using Approval of the President’s Handling of the Economy to Understand Who Polarizes and Why.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 40(3): 545-558. [PDF] [PSQ]

- - Replication Data

19. Policy Mood and Political Sophistication: Why Everybody Moves Mood (2008)

Enns, Peter K. and Paul M. Kellstedt. 2008. “Policy Mood and Political Sophistication: Why Everybody Moves Mood.” The British Journal of Political Science 38(3): 433-454. [PDF] [BJPS]

- - Replication Data / Codebook

Time Series Analysis

1. Detecting true relationships in time series data with different orders of integration (2022)

Enns, Peter K., Carolina Moehlecke, and Christopher Wlezien. 2022. “Detecting true relationships in time series data with different orders of integration.” Political Science Research and Methods 10(4): 857-869. [PDF] [PSRM]

- - Replication Files

2. Moving Forward with Time Series Analysis (2017)

Enns, Peter K., Nathan J. Kelly, Takaaki Masaki, and Patrick C. Wohlfarth. 2017. “Moving Forward with Time Series Analysis.” Research and Politics 4(4): 1-7. [PDF] [R&P]

3. Understanding Equation Balance in Time Series Regression (2017)

Enns, Peter K. and Christopher Wlezien. 2017. “Understanding Equation Balance in Time Series Regression.” The Political Methodololgist 24(2): 2-12. [PDF] [TPM]

- - Replication Files

4. Don't Jettison the General Error Correction Model Just Yet: A Practical Guide to Avoiding Spurious Regression with the GECM (2016)

Enns, Peter K., Nathan J. Kelly, Takaaki Masaki, and Patrick C. Wohlfarth. 2016. “Don’t Jettison the General Error Correction Model Just Yet: A Practical Guide to Avoiding Spurious Regression with the GECM.” Research and Politics 3(2):1-16. [PDF] [R&P]

- - Supplementary Information File // Replication Files

Book Reviews

1. Mobilized by Injustice (2020)

Enns, Peter K. 2020. “Book Review of: Mobilized by Injustice: Criminal Justice Contact, Political Participation, and Race.” Perspectives on Politics 18(4): 1214–1216. [Perspectives] [PDF]

2. Class Attitudes in America (2020)

Enns, Peter K. 2020. “Book Review of: Class Attitudes in America: Sympathy for the Poor, Resentment of the Rich, and Political Implications.” American Review of Politics 37(1): 142–145. [ARP] [PDF]

3. White-Collar Government (2015)

Enns, Peter K. 2015. “Book Review of: White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making.” Congress & The Presidency. 42(1): 116-118. [C&TP] [PDF]

4. Justices and Journalists (2012)

Enns, Peter K. 2012. “Book Review of: Justices and Journalists: The U.S. Supreme Court and the Media. 127(1): 158–159. [PSQ] [PDF]

5. Polarized America (2008)

Enns, Peter K. 2008. “Book Review of: Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches.” Political Science Quarterly. 123(4): 687–689. [PSQ] [PDF]

Unpublished Papers

1. The American Voter Goes Shopping

Enns, Peter K. and Christopher J. Anderson. “The American Voter Goes Shopping: Presidential Elections and the Micro-Foundations of Partisan Consumption.”
- Supplementary Information File

2. The Micro Foundations of Presidential Approval.

Enns, Peter K. “The Micro Foundations of Presidential Approval.”

- Winner of the Best Paper Award, for the best paper on elections, public opinion, and voting behavior delieverd at the 2007 APSA Annual Meeting.

3. Time Series Analysis and Spurious Regression

Enns, Peter K., Takaaki Masaki, and Nathan J. Kelly “Time Series Analysis and Spurious Regression: An Error Correction.”

- Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA. 2014.