#79 What Do Voter Preferences Reveal?

This newsletter is really a public policy&#160;thought-letter. While excellent newsletters on specific themes within public policy already exist, this thought-letter is about frameworks, mental models, and key ideas that will hopefully help you think about any public policy problem in imaginative ways. It seeks to answer just one question:&#160;how do I think about a particular public policy problem/solution?<br/><br/>Welcome to the mid-week edition in which we write essays on a public policy theme. The usual public policy review comes out on weekends.<br/><br/>PS: If you enjoy listening instead of reading, we have this edition available as an audio narration on all podcasting platforms courtesy the good folks at&#160;<a href="https://www.ad-auris.com/">Ad-Auris</a>. If you have any feedback, please send it to us.&#160;<br/><br/>- RSJ<br/><br/>The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with the research and analytics firm YouGov conducted the Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS) between September 1 and September 20, 2020. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav now have a <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/files/2020-IAAS_full_final.pdf">paper titled &#8216;How Will Indian Americans Vote&#8217;</a> based on this survey that has a few interesting conclusions.&#160; <br/><br/>The study is useful to test a few hypotheses that have emerged in India in the past few years. These include:<br/><br/>Indian Americans have nudged closer to the Republicans on the back of Trump-Modi chemistry. The enthusiasm for PM Modi among NRIs and among BJP supporters in India for Trump has created a positive self-reinforcing cycle for both. <br/><br/>Most Indian Americans have turned conservative over time going by their stand on domestic issues in India. This is drawn from the views of many vocal Indian Americans on social media platforms and the anecdotal evidence of friends and family on WhatsApp groups supporting the conservative or majoritarian stance of this regime. This has led many to assume