2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Sunday, April 6-10:00 am
Disc.
Laura J. Hatcher, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
hatcher@siu.edu
46-6 ASSESSING URBAN POLICIES
Room UEH 409 on the 4th Floor, Sun at 10:00 am
Chair Michelle Miller-Adams, Grand Valley State University
millmich@gvsu.edu
Paper A New Look at How Educational Expenditure Affects Student
Academic Achievement
This paper is trying to examine the relationship between the public
educational spending and the student achievement at secondary
school level.
Jiang He, University of Georgia
jhe@uga.edu
Paper Cleaning up the Mess: Redevelopment of Urban Brownfields
An analysis of efforts of federal and state of Michigan efforts
to stimulate the redevelopment of urban brownfields. Particular
attention is given to identifying the characteristics of successful
projects.
Richard C. Hula, Michigan State University
rhula@msu.edu
Rebecca Bromley, Michigan State University
bromley4@msu.edu
Paper Tax Increment Financing in Missouri
The statue authorizing tax increment financing in Missouri
was enacted in 1982. On the 25th anniversary of this enabling
legislation, this paper reviews the original intention of the statue,
and analyzes patterns of adoption and usage of the Act.
Cassandra Butler, University of Missouri
cassandrabutler@umsl.edu
Paper Crawling to the Bottom: Effects of Redistribution on Local
Fiscal Capacity
Fiscal federalism predicts that local governments providing social
welfare will experience increased poverty. I argue that communities
likeliest to provide social welfare are faceless competition and
hence a smaller change in poverty rate.
Michael C Craw, Michigan State University
craw@msu.edu
Disc. Patrick Flavin, University of Notre Dame
pflavin@nd.edu
Michelle Miller-Adams, Grand Valley State University
millmich@gvsu.edu
47-16 THE INFLUENCE OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL
INSTITUTIONS IN PUBLIC POLICY
Room Suite 12-150 on the 12th Floor, Sun at 10:00 am
Chair Susan L. Moffitt, Harvard University
smoffitt@rwj.harvard.edu
Paper The Effect of Funding Program Type on Nanotechnology
Outcomes
This paper provides an analysis of nanotechnology research funding
through two federal agencies (NSF and NIH) and its relationship to
science and technology innovation contained in the United States
Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) data.
Jennifer M. Benoit-Bryan, University of Illinois, Chicago
jbenoi2@uic.edu
Gena Miller, University of Illinois, Chicago
ddmcfadden04@yahoo.com
Paper Integrating Institutions and Local Contracting
The ability of local governments to integrate policies though
voluntary agreements depends on the availability of integrating
institutions such as regional councils. We examine the influence of
regional council membership on interlocal transfers.
Sung-Wook Kwon, Florida State Univesity
sk04f@fsu.edu
Richard C. Feiock, Florida Sate University
rfeiock@coss.fsu.edu
Paper
Disc.
The Role of Informal Institutions in Implementation of
Immigration Policy
Why are some policies successful while others are not This paper
examines the role of informal institutions in policy implementation.
It investigates how informal institutions influence the effectiveness
of immigration policies of the United States.
Saltanat Liebert, Virginia Commonwealth University
sliebert@vcu.edu
Susan L. Moffitt, Harvard University
smoffitt@rwj.harvard.edu
47-24 SIGNALING AND ATTENTION IN THE POLICY
PROCESS
Room Salon 5 on the 3rd Floor, Sun at 10:00 am
Chair Susan Webb Yackee, University of Wisconsin
syackee@lafollette.wisc.edu
Paper Prodding the Bureaucracy: Signaling and Presidential Influence
Over Policy Making in the Bureaucracy
We develop new avenues of research for those hoping to understand
presidential agenda setting and the way that administrative
arrangements translate these policy signals into substantive policy
change.
Heather A. Larsen-Price, University of Memphis
hlrsnprc@memphis.edu
Samuel Workman, University of Washington
sworkman@u.washington.edu
Paper Economizing Attention: Bureaucracy and Bottom-up Signaling
in the Administrative State
Federal agencies influence policy agendas at higher levels of
government by economizing on the attention limits of political
institutions and signaling which policy problems need attention at a
given point in time.
Samuel Workman, University of Washington
sworkman@u.washington.edu
Paper Experts, Legislators, and Attentiveness: Cheap Talk and the
Policy Process
We construct a game-theoretic model in which an expert,
legislature, and public interact in a policy game. We test
implications of the model using survey data regarding opinions on
climate change and global warming.
James R. Rogers, Texas A&M University
rogers@politics.tamu.edu
Arnold Vedlitz, Texas A&M University
avedlitz@bushschool.tamu.edu
Paper Institutional Dialogues: Agenda Setting and Policy Change
Across Institutions of Government
This paper examines agenda setting as a dynamic, reciprocal
process in which various institutions engage in a dialogue over the
way in which a policy should be shaped and how the future agenda
should be addressed by other institutions.
Amanda Ross Edwards, North Carolina State University
aredwar2@ncsu.edu
Disc. Susan Webb Yackee, University of Wisconsin
syackee@lafollette.wisc.edu
47-27 AGING SOCIETIES AND POLICY CHALLENGES
Room UEH 401 on the 4th Floor, Sun at 10:00 am
Chair Glenn D. Beamer, University of Maine
glenn.beamer@umit.maine.edu
Paper Developing Policy Dynamics in Eldercare
One facet of eldercare is assisted living, a residential care model
introduced in the late 20th century and regulated by the states. This
paper develops a framework for understanding patterns of state
regulatory schemes.
Julie Walters, Oakland University
walters@oakland.edu
347