From citizen input to a more egalitarian agenda: Public inquiries and the policy agenda

Public inquiries serve as a path for citizens to convey daily grievances directly to politicians, seeking resolutions. This paper examines their role as an information supply channel in the agenda-setting stage. Political agendas often exhibit socioeconomic bias, reflecting the interests of affluent groups, partly due to policymakers’ reliance on narrow information sources. We argue that exposing decision-makers to diverse, everyday citizen concerns through public inquiries contributes to a more equitable and inclusive political agenda. We test this argument using comprehensive data from Israel’s parliament, specifically examining the parliamentary Special Committee for Public Inquiries. We find that this committee’s agenda exhibits a high representation of issues concerning lower- and middle-class individuals. This finding has implications for how policymakers can broaden their agenda to address often-neglected issues and groups.