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Despite decades of research on women's representation, we still know surprisingly little about the extent to which public policy responds unequally to the preferences of women and men. This article exploits two comparable data sets, one for the United States and one for Norway, together containing measures of gender-disaggregated public opinion, as well as public policy outcomes, on 2,650 specific proposals asked about in survey polls between 1964 and 2014. The data reveal a substantial gap in policy responsiveness to men and women (in favor of men) in both countries. However, in Norway, the gender gap has virtually disappeared over time, a development that appears to be attributable to the increasing share of women in parliament. In the United States, the gap has remained remarkably stable over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research from the United States and Europe suggests that affluent citizens enjoy considerably more policy influence than do average citizens and the poor. I examine the extent of unequal policy responsiveness in one of the countries that have gone farthest in reducing economic inequality and restricting money in politics: Norway. I use an original dataset on public opinion and public policy containing 603 specific issues over five decades (1966–2014). The results show that although policy is certainly skewed toward the preferences of the privileged, Norway stands out among previously studied cases for two reasons: (1) The preferences of the poor seem to have some sway on economic issues and (2) not all affluent citizens get their way: educational attainment appears to be the more important determinant. The Norwegian case suggests that influence need not be as dependent upon affluence as in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]