Democratic Backsliding, Elite Polarization, and Job Seekers' Pursuit of Government Employment
通过联合实验，研究了美国州级民主倒退和精英极化如何影响求职者对政府工作的吸引力，发现两者均显著降低求职意愿，削弱政府的人才竞争力。
ABSTRACT Recent studies examine the conditions under which citizens in democracies are willing to endorse leaders who promote antidemocratic platforms. Less is known about the downstream ramifications of democratic backsliding on American citizens' attitudes and behaviors toward government. Specifically, no study has examined whether democratic backsliding affects citizens' willingness to engage with, collaborate with, and contribute to government. This article advances this research agenda by employing a conjoint experiment to assess the impact of state‐level democratic backsliding and elite polarization on Americans' attraction to state government employment among those who are actively seeking employment. Findings indicate that democratic backsliding, including political attacks on the state bureaucracy, alongside elite polarization, significantly and negatively affect job seekers' attraction to state government work. These findings suggest democratic backsliding and polarization repel potential job seekers, undermining the government's already limited capacity to compete with businesses over talent and its democratic resilience.