David Broockman
Assistant Professor of Political Economy, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
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About David
Broockman's research considers how voters and politicians decide, generally using field experiments and other approaches that allow for rigorous causal inferences to be drawn. Broockman’s published academic work spans the topics of public opinion, voter behavior, and research methodology. During his career in the private sector, Brookman designed and implemented field experiments at the AFL-CIO, the Analyst Institute, Google, and CREDO Action.
Contributions
Evidence that Legislators Grant Special Access to Donors
Key Findings Brief,
Politicians Think American Voters are More Conservative than They Really Are
Key Findings Brief,
How Race Influences Citizen Contact with Officeholders
Key Findings Brief,
In the News
David Broockman quoted on conducted an evidence review in 2017 of studies evaluating how effective interventions aimed at persuading voters are by Dylan Matthews, "The Pandemic Is Forcing Democrats to Ask: How Important Is Door-Knocking, Anyway?" Vox, September 3, 2020.
"Persuading Voters is Hard. That Doesn’t Mean Campaigns Should Give Up.," David Broockman (with ), The Washington Post, October 11, 2017.
David Broockman's research on changing voter behavior discussed by , "Most Campaign Outreach Has Zero Effect on Voters," The Atlantic, September 30, 2017.
David Broockman's research on changing voter behavior discussed by , "A Massive New Study Reviews the Evidence on Whether Campaigning Works. The Answer's Bleak.," Vox, September 28, 2017.
Christopher Skovron's research on American politicians’ perceptions of their constituents’ opinions discussed by , "On Climate Change and Elsewhere, Politicians More Conservative than Citizens," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 24, 2017.
"G.O.P. Senators Might Not Realize It, but Not One State Supports the A.H.C.A.," David Broockman (with ), New York Times, June 14, 2017.
on KCUR, David Broockman, June 14, 2017.
David Broockman quoted on the politics of racial resentment by Dylan Matthews, "Donald Trump Has Every Reason to Keep White People Thinking about Race" Vox, November 30, 2016.
David Broockman's research on reducing prejudice discussed by , "Study Shows Door-to-Door Canvassing Can Help Reduce Prejudice against Transgender People," The Daily Californian, April 11, 2016.
David Broockman quoted on changing public opinion by Brian Resnick, "These Scientists Can Prove It's Possible to Reduce Prejudice" Vox, April 8, 2016.
David Broockman's research on reducing prejudice discussed by , "Talking to People about Gay and Transgender Issues Can Change Their Prejudices," Science Magazine, April 7, 2016.
Melissa R. Michelson quoted on voter mobilization by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, "How Do You Change Voters’ Minds? Have a Conversation" New York Times Magazine, April 7, 2016.
David Broockman's research on reducing projudice discussed by , "The Researchers Who Sank a Bogus Canvassing Study Have Replicated Some of Its Findings," The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 7, 2016.
"How Well-Meaning Political Reformers are Helping to Elect President Trump," David Broockman, The Washington Post, March 7, 2016.
David Broockman quoted on irregularities in a recent study concerning the persuasion “effects” of canvassing by Jessie Singal, "The Case of the Amazing Gay-Marriage Data: How a Graduate Student Reluctantly Uncovered a Huge Scientific Fraud" New York Magazine, May 29, 2015.
"‘We Need to Take a Look at the Data’: How 2 Persistent Grad Students Upended a Blockbuster Study," David Broockman, Interview with Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 21, 2015.
David Broockman's research on how canvassers can change people's opinions on same-sex marriage, which debunked a highly touted study discussed by , "This Was the Biggest Political Science Study of Last Year. It Was a Complete Fraud.," Vox, May 20, 2015.
David Broockman's research on moderate voters discussed by , "The Peasants Still Have Their Pitchforks," Truth Out, November 15, 2014.
David Broockman's research on how politicians shape public opinion discussed by , "Study: Politicians Can Change Hearts and Minds Simply by Stating Their Views," The Washington Post, September 10, 2014.
David Broockman's research on trends in politicians' understandings of their constituents (with Christopher Skovron) discussed by , "America: A Land of Liberals Governed by Conservatives?," The Guardian, October 2, 2013.
David Broockman's research on politicians' skewed views of voter preferences (with Christopher Skovron) discussed by , "How Legislators View Their Constituents," Daily Beast, September 24, 2013.
David Broockman's research on politician’s perceptions of their constituents discussed by , "Study: Politicians Think Voters are Way More Conservative than They Actually Are," MSNBA, March 9, 2013.
David Broockman's research on online advertising discussed by , "Study: On Facebook, Money Alone Can’t Buy Political Popularity," TechCrunch, October 18, 2012.
David Broockman's research on discrimination discussed by , "Race and Response," New York Times, May 10, 2011.
David Broockman's research on discrimination discussed by , "Discriminating against 'DeShawn'," Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2011.
David Broockman's research on discrimination discussed by , "Today in Depressing Political Science," The Washington Post, May 3, 2011.
Publications
"Campaign Contributions Facilitate Access to Congressional Officials: A Randomized Field Experiment" (with ). American Journal of Political Science 60, no. 3 (2016): 545-558.
Argues that members of Congress grant preferential access to purported political donors over concerned constituents. Is the first experimental demonstration of the biasing role of money in politics.
"Black Politicians are More Intrinsically Motivated to Advance Blacks’ Interests" American Journal of Political Science 57, no. 3 (2013): 521-536.
Employs a unique experimental design to demonstrate that black politicians are more intrinsically motivated to represent blacks’ interests than are whites. When the incentives of politicians to respond to a putative request from a black individual are experimentally reduced, black politicians generally continue to provide representation though white politicians generally do not.
"What Politicians Believe about Their Constituents: Asymmetric Misperceptions and Prospects for Constituency Control," (with ), University of California, Berkeley, February 28, 2013.
Shows that politicians are typically ignorant of constituency opinion and salient issues in their districts and, moreover, typically overestimate the conservatism of their constituents. Conservative politicians’ errors are particularly egregious, overestimating their constituents’ conservatism by around 20 percentage points on average.