2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Thursday, April 3-2:45 pm
4-6 BUSINESS-GOVERNMENT RELATIONS IN
TRANSITION STATES
Room PDR 16 on the 5th Floor, Thur at 2:45 pm
Chair Adriana Buliga-Stoian, Binghamton University
mbuliga1@binghamton.edu
Paper Political Strategies to Manipulate Welfare Policy
I show how the politics of welfare policy changed in Central/
Eastern Europe and argue that the dismantling of the generous
communist programs began before political change. Instead of
hindering the change, democratization facilitated these changes.
Christine Lipsmeyer, Texas A&M University
lipsmeyer@tamu.edu
Paper Determinants of Firm Behavior in Transition Economies
Making and Playing by the Rules or Getting Around them: Are
Business Associations Good Alternatives to Registration with
Authorities in Dealing with Startup Problems and Contract
Enforcement in Transition Economies
Grigor Sukiassyan, California State University, Fullerton
gsukiassyan@fullerton.edu
Jeffrey B. Nugent, University of Southern California
nugent@usc.edu
Paper Market Reforms and An Endogenous Theory of Interest Group
Formation
Despite facing similar political and economic incentives, progress
in market reforms in health and pensions vary widely in Russia. I
develop an explanation of the endogenous causes of interest group
organization and strength.
Sarah E. Wilson Sokhey, Ohio State University
sokhey.3@osu.edu
Paper Talking Business: Using Parliamentary Debates to Measure the
Influence of Business in New Market Economies
This paper uses quantitative content analytic methods to analyze 17
years of parliamentary debate in 3 new market economies. The goal
is to explore the relationship between party competition the political
influence of business.
Roger Schoenman, University of California, Santa Cruz
rschoenm@ucsc.edu
Disc. Adriana Buliga-Stoian, Binghamton University
mbuliga1@binghamton.edu
5-5 EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS
Room Suite 10-150 on the 10th Floor, Thur at 2:45 pm
Chair Christopher J. Kam, University of British Columbia
ckam@interchange.ubc.ca
Paper The President in the Government Termination Process in
European Democracies
The paper investigates the influence of the president's power
of parliament dissolution on the outcomes of the government
termination process in European democracies, in which the survival
of government depends on the confidence of parliament.
Shin-Goo Kang, University of Rochester
sgkg@troi.cc.rochester.edu
Paper Government Arrangements, Policy Shocks and No-Confidence
Motions
I present a theory explaining the timing and presence of noconfidence
motions as a signaling process between opposition
parties, the government and key actors within the electorate.
Laron K. Williams, Texas A&M University
lwilliams@polisci.tamu.edu
Paper
Paper
Disc.
Making Rules For Rulemaking in Presidential and
Parliamentary Systems
We argue that APAs in parliamentary systems need not include ex
ante constraints on administrative rulemaking. Conversely, APAs in
presidential systems should devote significant attention to ex ante
constraints on administrative rulemaking.
Christian B. Jensen, University of Iowa
Christian-Jensen@uiowa.edu
Robert J. McGrath, University of Iowa
robert-mcgrath@uiowa.edu
The Role of European Parliaments in Choosing Officeholders
Outside Cabinet
Effective constraint by external officeholders depends on
institutional powers and incentives to use them. I measure the
incentive dimension for 5 external constraint institutions in
25 European democracies and show both dimensions to be
independent.
Ulrich Sieberer, University Mannheim
sieberer@uni-mannheim.de
Christopher J. Kam, University of British Columbia
ckam@interchange.ubc.ca
5-21 INSTITUTIONS IN DEVELOPMENTAL
PERSPECTIVE
Room UEH 401 on the 4th Floor, Thur at 2:45 pm
Chair Julie Ann VanDusky, Binghamton University
jvandus1@binghamton.edu
Paper Ideas as Building Blocks of a Path
Path dependence approach suffers from a materialist bias. Due to
this bias, it neglects political continuities constituted by ‘ideas’. This
study illustrates ideational path dependence as a distinct type of
political continuity.
Zeki Sarigil, Mugla University
zesarigil@gmail.com
Paper Strong Nobles and Weak States: Comparing the Rise and
Demise of Prussia and Poland
In this paper I use a comparative historical analysis and processtracing
techniques to isolate and analyze the causal mechanisms
that produced dramatically different outcomes among early-modern
Brandenburg-Prussia and Poland.
Nicholas C. Wheeler, University of Virginia
ncw2e@virginia.edu
Paper Globalization, Decentralization and Presidential Systems
The paper argues that effect of globalization on fiscal
decentralization is mediated by political competition. We estimate
that effects of globalization on decentralization in presidential and
parliamentary systems are statistically different.
Mikhail Filippov, Binghamton University (SUNY)
filippov@binghamton.edu
Irina M. Busygina, MGIMO, Moscow
irabus@mgimo.ru
Paper Constitutional Choices: Types of Executives and Democratic
Consolidation
Using worldwide cross-sectional time series data, this study
compares the consequences of the type of executive for democracy
and stability. After presenting a new classification, the paper tests
the potential consequences of each type.
Pippa Norris, Harvard University
Pippa_Norris@Harvard.edu
Disc. Julie Ann VanDusky, Binghamton University
jvandus1@binghamton.edu
Martin Gruberg, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
gruberg@uwosh.edu
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