2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Thursday, April 3-2:45 pm
Paper
Disc.
The Informal Rules of Corruption: Explaining Failed Attempts
to Combat Mexican Police Corruption
Why has over a decade of policy initiates to reduce police
corruption in Mexico failed to produce results I find that dominant
informal rules in Mexican politics and police departments
frequently contradict and override new policy initiatives.
Daniel M. Sabet, Georgetown University
dms76@georgetown.edu
Jonathan B. Robinson, Rice University
lobo@rice.edu
8-19 PUBLIC OPINION
Room Suite 13-150 on the 13th Floor, Thur at 2:45 pm
Paper Income and Vote Choice in the 1994, 2000, and 2006 Mexican
Presidential Elections
We find that in the 1994-2006 Mexican Presidential elections,
income has a stronger effect in predicting the vote for the
conservative party in poorer states than richer states. We explain
these patterns by looking at income, vote choice and geography.
Jeronimo Cortina, University of Houston
jcortina@central.uh.edu
Andrew Gelman, Columbia University
gelman@stat.columbia.edu
Maria N. Lasala-Blanco, Columbia University
ml2362@columbia.edu
Paper Strategic Voting in Multiparty New Democracies: The Case of
Brazil
Who votes strategically in multiparty new democracies The case
of Brazil reveals that they are highly educated, young people who
follow closely the electoral campaigns. Interestingly, rejection of
parties and candidacies plays a key role.
Simone R. Bohn, York University, Toronto
sbohn@yorku.ca
Paper Sociopolitical Cleavages and the Changing Party System in
Mexico
Democracy has made possible the formation of a party system that
allows the free political expression of socioeconomic and religious
cleavages. This entails that, contrary to previous findings, region is
not the best predictor of the vote in Mexico.
Gustavo Rivera, University of Texas, Austin
grivera@mail.utexas.edu
Paper Structures of Public Opinion Towards Economic Integration
Within Latin America
Utilizing the 2005 Latinobarometer survey, this paper seeks to
disaggregate the principle factors that influence opinion toward
trade integration within the Latin American region.
Miguel Augusto Teixeira, University of Delaware
miguel@udel.edu
Paper Determinants of Abstention in National Elections in Latin
America, 1993-2007
Explores the determinants of abstention in the Latin American
presidential elections.
Roseanna Michelle Heath, Texas A&M University
rheath@politics.tamu.edu
Claudia Nancy Avellaneda, Texas A&M University
cavellaneda@hotmail.com
Paper Re-assessing the Role of Religion as Political Factor in Latin
America
This paper addresses the role of religion as a political factor in Latin
American countries. Using an original dataset collected in Lima,
Peru in 2007, I assess the influence of religion on a diverser set of
individual political orientations.
Jorge Aragon, Saint Louis University
jaragon1@slu.edu
Paper
Disc.
Social Trust, Economic Inequality, and Democracy in the
Americas
This papers explores the link between economic inequality, social
capital, and democratic attitudes in the Latin American context visà-vis
Canada and the United States.
Abby Beatriz Cordova, Vanderbilt University
abby.b.cordova@vanderbilt.edu
Raul Cipriano Gonzalez, Rice University
raul@rice.edu
9-2 SUBNATIONAL POLITICS IN INDIA: POLICY,
PUBLIC GOOD
Room Suite 9-250 on the 9th Floor, Thur at 2:45 pm
Chair Ashutosh Varshney, University of Michigan
varshney@umich.edu
Paper Panchayat Effectiveness in Kerala vs. West Bengal Or Why
Political Competition Matters
Panchayats in Kerala have been more effective at delivering social
services and contributing towards improving social indicators than
their West Bengali counterparts due to real political competition in
Kerala and lack thereof in West Bengal.
Rani Mullen, College of William and Mary
rdmull@wm.edu
Paper Rule of Law, Politicians, and Party-Building: Understanding the
Strength of Regional Parties in India
In weak rule of law countries like India, the conditions that favor
successful regional parties are different than in strong rule of law
countries because party-building depends on politician incentives
rather than on voter preferences.
Adam Ziegfeld, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ziegfeld@mit.edu
Paper Subnationalism and Social Development: A Comparative
Analysis of Indian States
This paper argues that variations in levels of social development
among Indian states are explained by differences in the
cohesiveness of subnationalism.
Prerna Singh, Princeton University
prernas@princeton.edu
Paper Explaining Economic Performance Across India's States,
1967-2004
Varying patterns of political competition and fragmentation of
authority explain vastly different levels of economic growth across
India's states.
Irfan Nooruddin, Ohio State University
nooruddin.3@osu.edu
Paper Social Hierarchies, Local Politics, and Child Welfare:
Understanding the Prospects and Limitations of NGO
Interventions in Rural Uttar Pradesh
NGOs in rural Uttar Pradesh can help facilitate child welfare
outcomes by working through existing village-level hierarchies.
However, political support from local bureaucrats is also necessary
for public goods provision.
Akshay Mangla, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
amangla@mit.edu
Disc. Ina Acharya, Minnesota State University, Mankato
ina.acharya@gmail.com
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