We compare the patterns of adjustment of government policy to changes in public opinion in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. These countries are similar in many ways, except that the United Kingdom has plurality elections and single-party government, while the Netherlands has proportional representation (PR) and coalition government. This provides the first application of the Macro Polity approach to a country with PR elections. We find that government policy in the Netherlands is highly responsive to public opinion. This cannot be the result of alternation of government, but instead must be the result of some other process, such as coalition bargaining. In the United Kingdom, however, the dynamic of adjustment is far more complex. Alternation of government does not produce responsiveness, but rather seems to get in the way of it. This leads to an over-correction dynamic in which policy can be out of line with public opinion for long periods of time.

中文翻译：

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比例多数选举下的舆论动态与政策应对

我们比较了荷兰和英国政府政策的调整模式与公众舆论的变化。这些国家在很多方面都相似，只是英国实行复数选举和一党制政府，而荷兰则实行比例代表制（PR）和联合政府。这首次将宏观政体方法应用于有 PR 选举的国家。我们发现荷兰的政府政策对公众舆论高度敏感。这不可能是政府更替的结果，而一定是其他一些过程的结果，例如联合谈判。然而，在英国，调整的动态要复杂得多。政府更替不会产生响应性，反而似乎会妨碍响应性。