Showing papers in "The Journal of Politics in 1991"
TL;DR: The authors showed that rapid change in public policy outcomes often occurs, but most theories of pluralism emphasize only incrementalism. Yet from a historical view, it can easily be seen that many policies go through lo...
Abstract: Rapid change in public policy outcomes often occurs, but most theories of pluralism emphasize only incrementalism. Yet from a historical view, it can easily be seen that many policies go through lo...
948 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between the percentage of women in state legislatures and their policy priorities and found that women in states with the highest percentages of female representatives introduce and pass more priority bills dealing with issues of women, children, and families than men in their states and more than their female counterparts in low representation legislatures.
Abstract: Do women in public office make a difference? If so, what kind and under what circumstances? This study offers preliminary answers to these questions by examining the relationship between the percentage of women in state legislatures and their policy priorities. It also examines the impact women legislators have on overall legislative policy. Findings reveal that women in states with the highest percentages of female representatives introduce and pass more priority bills dealing with issues of women, children, and families than men in their states and more than their female counterparts in low representation legislatures. Moreover, women can successfully diffuse their priorities throughout the legislative process in one of two ways: through high percentages of women in office or through the presence of a formal women's legislative caucus. These findings suggest that women do indeed make a difference and that their capacity to do so is related to the level of support from colleagues.
479 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed and tested a comprehensive model of House election outcomes and used this model to explain competition for House seats. But, they did not consider the effect of public financing of campaigns.
Abstract: The 1986 and 1988 U.S. House elections set all-time records for reelection of incumbents. This paper proposes and tests a comprehensive model of House election outcomes and uses this model to explain competition for House seats. The results indicate that the extraordinarily low level of competition in recent House elections is directly attributable to two trends which affected these elections during the 1980s: the increasing cost of House campaigns and the declining ability of House challengers to raise campaign funds. After controlling for inflation, a dollar of campaign spending in 1984 or 1986 yielded a much lower rate of electoral return for House challengers than a dollar of campaign spending in 1974 or 1976. In addition, between 1980 and 1988, average spending by House challengers declined by more than 30% in real dollars. Public financing of campaigns could increase competition for House seats, but only if a very high level of funding was provided.
294 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of parents on the partisanship and politicization of their children as the youth mature from adolescence to middle adulthood during a particularly turbulent period of American politics was analyzed.
Abstract: Two of the most important influences on adult political orientations are the political proclivities of their family of origin and the pressures of the times in which they first enter the electorate. Drawing upon a three-wave panel study of young Americans over the 1965-1982 time period and conceiving of parental orientations as producing a broad familial environment, this article traces the influence of parents on the partisanship and politicization of their children as the youth mature from adolescence to middle adulthood during a particularly turbulent period of American politics. The parental partisan legacy remained strong even though it was eroded by the antipartisan period pressures of the late 1960s and early 1970s. By contrast, family levels of politicization were reproduced only modestly throughout, leaving ample room for attentiveness to politics to develop outside of the family tradition. However, the interaction between the partisanship and the politicization of the family environment governs ...
222 citations
TL;DR: This paper studied the influence of political discussion during an election campaign and found that political preferences are affected by discussion, and the types of discussant relationships are most likely to foster political influence.
Abstract: Political discussion during an election campaign is an important vehicle of social influence--a means whereby the preferences of individuals are brought into correspondence with political surroundings. Correspondingly, the study of discussion effects is not simply an examination of dyadic information flows. Rather, it is one part of a more thorough explication of the political linkages that lie between individuals and groups within the society, and of the manner in which individual politics is imbedded within the larger community. This paper addresses a series of questions related to the influence of political discussion. To what extent are political preferences affected by discussion? What types of discussant relationships are most likely to foster political influence? What types of discussants are most influential? These questions are addressed on the basis of an election study conducted in South Bend, Indiana during the 1984 presidential election.
217 citations
TL;DR: Policy reinvention during the initial diffusion process and through amendment is examined, suggesting that even though a set of laws or policies may be grouped into one broad, general category, states create substantively different policies through reinvention, which has important consequences for groups affected by the legislation.
Abstract: Most research on the diffusion of policy innovations focuses on the date of adoption and its correlates. This research examines an aspect of innovation which has received little attention: policy reinvention during the initial diffusion process and through amendment. The central proposition is that even though a set of laws or policies may be grouped into one broad, general category, states create substantively different policies through reinvention, which has important consequences for groups affected by the legislation. Hypotheses concerning the relationship between date of adoption and policy content and the effect of particular controversial policy provisions on reinventions are examined. The study has general implications for the study of the diffusion of innovations and policy in state politics.
210 citations
TL;DR: The authors applied logistic regression to survey data collected during the 1979, 1983, and 1987 British general election campaigns, finding some evidence of a bandwagon effect in all three elections, but no evidence of an underdog effect and only minor evidence of projection effect.
Abstract: Since the widespread use of opinion polls in British general elections began in the 1950s, there has been continuing controversy concerning their impact on the vote. The bandwagon effect sees voters favoring a party that is doing well in the polls, while the underdog effect predicts that support will go to a party trailing in the polls. There is also the possibility of a projection effect, with voters' expectations conforming to their partisanship. The results presented here, applying logistic regression to "exit poll" survey data collected during the 1979, 1983, and 1987 British general election campaigns, find some evidence of a bandwagon effect in all three elections, but no evidence of an underdog effect and only minor evidence of a projection effect. However, there is a consistent interaction between poll influence and those who decided which way to vote during the election campaign, suggesting that opinion polls can facilitate tactical voting, especially in three-party competition.
191 citations
TL;DR: Using data from the 1984 American National Election Study, this paper found that feminism has a similar impact on the values and policy preferences of men and women, suggesting that feminism leads to feminist, not feminine values.
Abstract: Using data from the 1984 American National Election Study, we reconsider the argument that feminism helps women realize their feminine values and policy preferences. Using an operational definition that allows us to identify male and female feminists, we find that feminism has a similar impact on the values and policy preferences of men and women, suggesting that feminism leads to feminist, not feminine values. In addition, we examine Conover's conclusion that the gender gap is due entirely to feminist women and find a gender gap among feminist men and women, potentially feminist men and women, and nonfeminist men and women.
172 citations
TL;DR: This article examined citizens' conceptions of rights, duties, and civic identities in the United States and Great Britain by combining an information processing approach with a methodology that has seldom been used in political science.
Abstract: This study examines citizens' conceptions of rights, duties, and civic identities in the United States and Great Britain By combining an information processing approach with a methodology--focus groups--that has seldom been used in political science, we have begun to explore empirical claims in contemporary theoretical controversies about citizenship We find that in the minds of citizens citizenship is a complex matter, and that the roles constructed by citizens themselves blend together liberal and communitarian elements in ways unanticipated by many political theorists
170 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of party identification and strength of identification on participation in both campaign activities and political protest were examined by examining the effect of political identification and the strength of political participation.
Abstract: Previous research has shown a strong relationship between party identification and participation in conventional political activities such as voting and campaign behavior. We extend these analyses by examining the effects of party identification and strength of identification on participation in both campaign activities and political protest. We hypothesize that party differences in these behaviors can be explained by the different levels of participatory incentives perceived by party identifiers and nonidentifiers. We specify a series of incentives derived from theories of collective action and measure them in a national and a community probability sample in the Federal Republic of Germany. The results show that the bivariate relationships between party identification and political participation can be explained largely through their mutual relationship with participatory incentives such as policy dissatisfaction, belief in the moral justifiability of various forms of behavior, and willingness to conform...
110 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of presidential elections on congressional elections were examined in a single-equation model and the results indicated strong presidential "surge and decline" effects, however, do not entirely explain vote and seat losses by the president's party in midterms.
Abstract: This note examines the effects of presidential elections on congressional elections. Nationally aggregated congressional seat and vote change data for the 61 congressional elections held in presidential and midterm election years from 1868 to 1988 are examined in a single-equation model. The results indicate strong presidential "surge and decline" effects. In presidential election years, a party's presidential vote positively affects its congressional election results--the presidential surge. In the following midterm elections, the president's party loses the advantage of the presidential surge and, as a consequence, also loses congressional votes and seats. These midterm losses of congressional seats and votes for the president's party are in proportion to the party's prior presidential vote margin. Presidential surge and decline effects, however, do not entirely explain vote and seat losses by the president's party in midterms. In addition to suffering vote and seat losses because of the absence of pres...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop three hypotheses and devise two experiments to investigate them and conclude that the effectiveness of different interpretations depends significantly on the political beliefs and schemata of voters and on the chronic cognitive accessibility of the interpretations.
Abstract: A central requirement for explaining many political outcomes is an understanding of how advocates manipulate the preferences of voters on various policy proposals. A major tactic by which the advocates of a policy proposal attempts to influence the preferences of voters is the presentation of "interpretations" about the various consequences of the policy proposal. Despite the central role of interpretations in political manipulations, little is known about when and why a particular interpretation will be effective. We argue that the effectiveness of different interpretations depends significantly on the political beliefs and schemata of voters and on the chronic cognitive accessibility of the interpretations, but only in certain information environments. We develop three hypotheses and devise two experiments to investigate them. In each experiment, registered voters read interpretations of policy proposals and then evaluated the proposals. The interpretations were drawn from the actual public debate on fo...
TL;DR: The authors proposed a general model that partitions approval into mutually exclusive and exhaustive components: time, circumstances, and administration, and applied it to pooled monthly observations from the administrations of Truman through Reagan.
Abstract: If approval polls are as important as they seem to be to presidents and president-watchers, they can tell us more about common constraints across administrations. While an extensive body of research has examined these polls, we know little about the dimensions of approval generally. Based on a priori expectations derived from the institutional literature, we propose a general model that partitions approval into mutually exclusive and exhaustive components: time, circumstances, and administration. This model is applied to pooled monthly observations from the administrations of Truman through Reagan. All three components are statistically significant and together account for most of the variation in approval. We find a time curve, common to all presidents, consisting of a cycle of deflation and partial restoration of approval. From month seven on, presidents suffer a statistically significant loss of support month by month until the erosion subsides when the next election approaches. This temporal dimension...
TL;DR: This article found that the public does indeed link parties and groups in their political thinking, and that certain clusters of groups are generally associated with each party, thereby suggesting perceptions of party coalitions.
Abstract: Group cleavages and coalitions have long been an important aspect of how politicians view everyday American politics. Moreover, there is growing evidence which suggests that during recent years groups as actors in the political arena, and perceived group differences, have become increasingly visible to the public and more important in determining the political behavior of the average citizen. Most importantly, the types of group voters themselves associate with and the extent to which these groups are connected with the parties or particular candidates has important implications for structuring voters' political decisions. Analyses of correlations between thermometer ratings of various social groups and political parties indicate the public does indeed link parties and groups in their political thinking. Certain clusters of groups are generally associated with each party, thereby suggesting perceptions of party coalitions. Empirical evidence from a multivariate analysis for both 1972 and 1984 suggests tha...
TL;DR: In this article, it is hypothesized that campaign, and national and local problem-solving activities enhance conceptualization but that expressive activities do not, and that characteristics of the participatory experience may determine the nature of its effect on conceptualization.
Abstract: Though the school of participatory democracy claims that political participation affects individuals' conceptualization of politics, few empirical studies have addressed this question. This paper considers Bennett's (1975) argument that participation which involves the conflict of ideas and requires individual initiative and input enhances conceptualization. It is hypothesized that campaign, and national and local problem-solving activities enhance conceptualization but that expressive activities do not. The analysis, which uses data from the 1976 American National Election Study, supports the hypothesis, with the exception of local problem-solving activities. These findings suggest that Bennett's criteria are incomplete, and that characteristics of the participatory experience (e.g., success or failure) may determine the nature of its effect on conceptualization.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the logic of the "rainbow coalition," suggested as feasible by both academics and politicians, and find evidence consistent with the notion that Anglos will coalesce with Latinos rather than Blacks.
Abstract: This study examines politics in 118 multiracial urban school districts. It starts with an examination of the logic of the "rainbow coalition," suggested as feasible by both academics and politicians. A rival hypothesis based on social distance theory would suggest more intergroup conflict than would the rainbow coalition thesis. Using elections to urban school boards, we find evidence consistent with the notion that Anglos will coalesce with Latinos rather than Blacks. The evidence suggests that in future research the power thesis should be a coequal rival hypothesis with the rainbow coalition thesis.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the importance of institutional federalism to public policy outcomes and compare political responses from state and local clean air enforcement programs with the responses reported in an earlier study of EPA enforcements.
Abstract: In this note I focus on the importance of institutional federalism to public policy outcomes. The vehicle of analysis is national and subnational implementation of the clean air acts. Using Box-Tiao impact assessment models, I compare political responses from state and local clean air enforcement programs with the responses reported in my earlier study of EPA enforcements. The results show that responsiveness to central democratic institutions differs substantially when implementation is through a federal rather than a purely national scheme.
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of more than 39 thousand lobbying efforts reveals four dimensions of activity, including societal complexity, complexity, population, and proportion of lobbyists at the state and national levels, and they test the hypothesis that societal complexity is the fundamental cause of this interest-group activity.
Abstract: An analysis of more than 39 thousand lobbying efforts reveals four dimensions of activity. In broad outline, the proportion of lobbyists is the same at the state and national levels. The factors are used to test the hypothesis that societal complexity is the fundamental cause of this interest-group activity. Surprisingly, no measure of complexity except state population is associated with any type of lobbying, and even population is not significantly related to two of the four factors.
TL;DR: This article analyzed the voting behavior of southern members of the House during the Ninety-first through One-hundredth Congresses and found that long-term Democratic incumbents have altered their voting patterns due in part to the mobilization and empowerment of the southern black electorate.
Abstract: This study analyzes the voting behavior of southern members of the House during the Ninety-first through One-hundredth Congresses. We build upon the literature regarding constituency influence and congressional voting to account for more liberal voting records on civil rights measures by southern Democratic incumbents. Our primary hypothesis is that long-term Democratic incumbents have altered their voting patterns due in part to the mobilization and empowerment of the southern black electorate. Additionally, we explore competing accounts for this trend which focus upon generational replacement and party succession. Finally, we discuss the implications of our research for theories of representative government as well as concerns about electoral politics in the American South.
TL;DR: This paper examined altruism to answer three specific questions: are there systematic sociocultural predictors of altruism and related forms of selfless behavior? Are there corresponding systematic similarities in cognitive schema among altruists with respect to their self-perception and identity? And, finally, how can we explain differences between altruists and the self-interested rational actors of economics and rational choice theory?
Abstract: Most social and political theory since Hobbes is constructed on the norm of self-interest. Yet even in the most vicious of Darwinian worlds, altruism and selfless behavior continue to exist. Why? The work described below examines altruism to answer three specific questions. Are there systematic sociocultural predictors of altruism and related forms of selfless behavior? Are there corresponding systematic similarities in cognitive schema among altruists with respect to their self-perception and identity? And, finally, how can we explain differences between altruists and the self-interested rational actors of economics and rational choice theory? The research described here analyzes entrepreneurs as paradigmatic rational actors and contrasts them with philanthropists, heroes, and rescuers of Jews in Nazi-Europe. Findings from in-depth interviews suggest none of the traditional sociocultural factors predicts altruistic behavior. Explanations from social psychology work no better for selfless individuals than...
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of political tolerance focuses on the political elites in Israel and is based on elite and mass surveys and on a case-study analysis of the response of the Israeli political system to the entrance of two new outgroups in the 1980s.
Abstract: This study of political tolerance focuses on the political elites in Israel It is based on elite and mass surveys and on a case-study analysis of the response of the Israeli political system to the entrance of two new outgroups in the 1980s The results raise doubts as to the general application of elitist theory of democracy on three counts: First--in particular in situations of high threat and objection--the political elite does not seem to differ much in its attitudinal tolerance from the general public, yet nonpolitical elites do Second, politically partisan calculations enter the decision-making process and produce dynamics of intolerance rather than tolerance The political elite groups did not restrain each other, but rather cooperated in limiting more groups And third, the moves to limit political groups were the affair of the elites, even though there was widespread intolerance within the public
TL;DR: A survey of the 946 American cities having populations in excess of 25,000 in 1980 reveals very little relationship between election structures and the presence of women on their councils.
Abstract: A survey of the 946 American cities having populations in excess of 25,000 in 1980 reveals very little relationship between election structures and the presence of women on their councils. These results hold for the full data set as well as for four regional subsets. The evidence does not sustain the desirability hypothesis that suggests women will less often be elected in cities where the position is more valued. Women serve somewhat more frequently in the West, as expected, however, the proposition that the South will have a small proportion female on its councils is not borne out.
TL;DR: In a follow-up study as mentioned in this paper, the authors used the 1988 NES vote validation study to update their previous analyses and found that significant racial differences remain when participation is measured by the vote validation procedures.
Abstract: Our previous analyses of the 1964, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, and 1986 vote validation studies questioned the conclusion that low levels of electoral participation by blacks result solely from racial differences in socioeconomic status and because blacks are more likely than whites to live in the South. The 1988 NES vote validation study is used to update our findings, and the results are consistent with our previous analyses. Although controls for region and level of education eliminate racial differences in reported electoral participation, significant racial differences remain when participation is measured by the vote validation procedures. In addition, the 1988 NES survey suggests that racial differences in both reported and validated turnout increased in 1988, and we speculate on the reasons that black turnout declined in the 1988 presidential election.
TL;DR: This paper found that almost every senator now engages in extensive early money raising, but that those senators who have the biggest number of potentially strong opponents back home are the most active in this regard.
Abstract: Since 1980 the amount of money raised by incumbent senators during the first four years of their terms has increased dramatically. A widely held belief is that having a large campaign account well before the election scares the strongest potential challengers from making the race. Findings presented here show that almost every senator now engages in extensive early money raising, but that those senators who have the biggest number of potentially strong opponents back home are the most active in this regard. Large sums of early money do not, however, produce weaker challengers. Instead, the strength of the challenger is usually dictated by the size of the pool of strong candidates; where the number is large, one of the better candidates will make the race. Early money raising does not threaten the competitiveness of Senate elections.
TL;DR: In this article, a simple model of state political economy and examines it in three periods: 1968-1973, 1974-1979, and 1980-1985, is presented and it is found that states have become more autonomous economic domains over the course of these periods and, as they have, state level political attributes have come to play an increasing role in shaping growth in per capita personal income.
Abstract: Increasingly, attention has turned to state governments and their economies. This new field of inquiry has been plagued by a paradox. Specifically, while many observers describe heightened economic activism among the states, there is a paucity of evidence indicating that such activity makes any difference. This study presents a simple model of state political economy and examines it in three periods: 1968-1973, 1974-1979, and 1980-1985. Using pooled cross sectional time-series analysis it is found that states have become more autonomous economic domains over the course of these periods and, as they have, state level political attributes have come to play an increasing role in shaping growth in per capita personal income.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined monthly fluctuations in the aggregate distribution of partisan identifiers between 1981 and 1986 and found that there were systematic changes in the partisan balance during the period, and confirmed the MacKuen, Erikson, and Stimson (1989) finding that changes in presidential popularity account for some of the movement.
Abstract: Utilizing frequent measurements taken during a period of considerable economic volatility, our research explores how short-term fluctuations in partisanship have operated and continue to operate within a limited range before permanent realignment occurs. Specifically, we examine monthly fluctuations in the aggregate distribution of partisan identifiers between 1981 and 1986. We show that there were systematic changes in the partisan balance during the period, and confirm the MacKuen, Erikson, and Stimson (1989) finding that changes in presidential popularity account for some of the movement. Further, we detail economic influences on macropartisanship using objective indicators. The results show that both inflation and unemployment bear directly on the partisan balance, and that each exerts an indirect influence through presidential popularity.
TL;DR: Locke's apparent affirmation of the truth of Christianity in The Reasonableness of Christianity conceals a demonstration of reason's inability to vindicate this truth as mentioned in this paper, showing that one should adhere to the Christian law of nature which he argues is the bedrock of Christianity only if sanctions for this law exist in an afterlife; reason cannot prove the existence of an afterlife.
Abstract: Locke's apparent affirmation of the truth of Christianity in The Reasonableness of Christianity conceals a demonstration of reason's inability to vindicate this truth. Locke shows that one should strive to adhere to the Christian law of nature which he argues is the bedrock of Christianity only if sanctions for this law exist in an afterlife; reason, however, cannot prove the existence of an afterlife. Therefore, reason justifies obedience only to a law of nature the sanctions for which exist in this life, such as the law Locke elaborates in other writings. In the Reasonableness Locke refashions Christianity into a support for this rational morality, and he vindicates the practice of morality out of a concern for rewards and punishments by presenting Jesus as practicing a mercenary morality.
TL;DR: In this article, an article originally published in Journal of Politics, v. 53, no. 2 (May 1991), p. 434-453, is described as follows:
Abstract: An article originally published in Journal of Politics, v. 53, no. 2 (May 1991), p. 434-453.