Distinguishing Between Most Important Problems and Issues?

To measure the importance of political issues, scholars tradi-tionally have relied on a survey question that asks about the ‘‘most im-portant problem’ ’ (MIP) facing the nation. Increasingly, scholars are relying on a variant that asks about the ‘‘most important issue’ ’ (MII). While we have learned quite a lot about what MIP captures, especially over time, we know little about MII. Using newly compiled data from the United Kingdom, this article examines differences in the two items and their dynamics. The results of our analyses reveal that MII responses are strikingly similar to MIP responses. While they may be slightly closer to a valid indicator of issue importance, MII responses mostly reflect var-iation in assessments of problem status. An effective measure of issue importance remains elusive. The importance of political issues to citizens is central to much social science research. Scholars of voting behavior have had a long-standing interest in iden-tifying the importance that individuals attach to issues when making electoral