2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperDisc.Ideological and Legal Preferences in the Certiorari ProcessSean Williams, The Ohio State UniversityRoman Ivanchenko, The Ohio State UniversityOverview: We offer a formal model of the Supreme Court'scertiorari process that includes preferences both for ideologyand good law, and test the game's predictions with a selectionmodel to control for lower court strategy and litigant certioraridecisions.Wendy Martinek, Binghamton University37-4 IMPACT OF LAW AND JUDGES ONPOLITICAL STRATEGIESRoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Sat 8:30 amSusan G. Mezey, Loyola University, ChicagoGay Marriage, The Courts, and Public OpinionPatrick J. Egan, University of California, BerkeleyNathaniel Persily, University of PennsylvaniaOverview: We dispute the idea that court opinions regardinggay marriage have produced a backlash in public opinion.Rather, a change in the structure of public opinion has takenplace-a change that appears to be only indirectly related to thecourt decisions.A Comparative Study of Counter-Mobilization: TheResponses to Judicial Action Over Same-Sex Marriage inCanada and the United StatesScott E. Lemieux, Hunter College, CUNYShauna Fisher, University of WashingtonOverview: This paper examines the question of whether judicialpolicy-making that effects policy changes with respect todivisive social issues is likely to generate a particularly hostileresponse.The Trapping(s) of Welfare: Intersections of Race, Gender,Work and Welfare RightsRose Ernst, University of WashingtonOverview: This paper examines the relationship between twoallied movements, the women’s movement and welfare rightsmovement in defining and limiting conceptions of “work” inways specific to marginalized race, gender and class identities.Paper Language as Politics: Abortion and Elite Discourse, 1960-1980Loren C. Goldman, University of ChicagoOverview: This paper uses systematic content analysis ofeditorials from major American newspapers from 1960-1980 toshow that elite discourse about abortion changed in response toabortion's changing legal status over the period.Disc.Doris M. Provine, Arizona State University38-7 DIRECT DEMOCRACY AND POLITICALBEHAVIOR (Co-sponsored with VotingBehavior, see 19-21)RoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Sat 8:30 amRonald E. Weber, University of Wisconsin, MilwaukeeBallot Propositions and Political Interest: Information,Engagement and ParticipationCaroline Tolbert, Kent State UniversityMark Smith, University of WashingtonOverview: Ballot Propositions and Political Interest:Information, Engagement and ParticipationVoting on Direct Legislation Measures Focused on HigherEducation Funding: Constitution of a Favorable VoteJess M. Koldoff, Arizona State UniversityOverview: According to the December 17, 2004 issue of TheChronicle of Higher Education, state spending on highereducation in the United States rose approximately 3.8 percent inthe 2004-2005 fiscal year compared to the year before.Direct Democracy and Political TrustJoshua Dyck, Public Policy Institute of CaliforniaOverview: This paper examines the link between exposure todirect democracy and political trust.PaperPaperDisc.Do Policies Make Citizens?: Voter Initiatives and PoliticalEngagementDaniel Schlozman, Harvard UniversityIan Yohai, Harvard UniversityOverview: This paper replicates and extends existing analysesof the impact of voter initiatives on political engagement,examining elections from 1988 to 2004 to show not just whetherbut how and when initiatives affect efficacy, knowledge, andturnout.Target Groups and Voting on Direct LegislationStephen P. Nicholson, Georgia State UniversityOverview: I examine the role of target groups in shapingelectoral support for direct legislation. I hypothesize that ballotmeasures proposing to harm groups with negative stereotypesand to help groups with positive stereotypes increase electoralsupport.Willard Stouffer, Texas State UniversityZoltan Hajnal, Princeton University38-9 STATE-LEVEL FISCAL POLICYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amMichael E. Greenberg, Shippensburg UniversityEconomic Development in the States: Political andStructural Explanations of Spending PatternsAdam J. Newmark, Appalachian State UniversityChristopher Witko, California State University, SacramentoOverview: We consider how the states' desire for economicgrowth is conditioned by internal and external factors withinand outside the states. To do this, we examine spendingpatterns from 1964-1999 in the 50 states.The Vertical Dimension of Fiscal DecentralizationStan Hok-wui Wong, University of California, Los AngelesOverview: I examine the effect of political decentralization onmacroeconomic stability. My regression analysis shows thatpolitical decentralization would not compromisemacroeconomic stability if party discipline is strong.Governors, Legislators, Partisanship, and the Compositionof State BudgetsChristian Breunig, University of WashingtonChris Koski, University of WashingtonOverview: We use American state-level data to test to whatextent institutional structures endow political actors withabilities to determine which budget items are altered. Ourinquiry focuses on the impact of governors, legislators andpartisanship.Gary M. Halter, Texas A&M University39-9 COOPERATION AND COMPETITIONAMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Sat 8:30 amAnnette Steinacker, Claremont Graduate UniversityMaking a Difference: Strategies of Municipal CompetitionMichael C. Craw, Michigan State UniversityOverview: Suburbs limit their exposure to competition bydifferentiating from their neighbors. Differentiation strategiesare stratified by income: low income suburbs focus on quality ofbasic services and high income suburbs focus on amenities.Heterogeneity and Cooperation Among Governments inMetropolitan RegionsSkip Krueger, University of North TexasOverview: A model is proposed to test the impact ofheterogeneity on cooperation in the provision of local publicgoods. Unlike local common pool resources, regionalcooperation is hypothesized to be fostered by heterogeneity ofcooperating local governments.Interlocal Services Cooperation: Bridging PublicManagement and Metropolitan Governance?Jered B. Carr, Wayne State UniversityOverview: This paper integrate recent works on servicescooperation into a framework linking what we know about thenature of cooperation, the requisites of effective publicmanagement, and the role of interlocal contracting inmetropolitan governance.199