On Gilens/Page on Gilens/Page

This piece by Gilens/Page deserves attention:

Critics argued with our analysis of U.S. political inequality. Here are 5 ways they're wrong.

In 2014, Gilens/Page had published a really powerful empirical analysis about the democracy gap within our so-called “democracy.” (The punchline: while what-our-gov’t-does is linked to the attitudes of the elite, and organized interests, there’s no link to the attitudes of the average voter.)

In his “see-everything-is-just-fine” way, Dylan Matthews at Vox hacked together some quotes from follow-on research that was testing Gilens/Page’s work. (The punchline: See, everything’s just fine):

Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it's wrong.

Gilens/Page’s response is careful and complete. As their original piece was so influential, this follow on criticism — and rebuttal — is important too.