2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperPaperDisc.90Reflections on Little RockHan Il Chang, New York UniversityOverview: After examining the preexisting debate on whetherArendt was an elitist or a populist, I will show its limit and newapproach.The Question of Life in the Political Theory of GiorgioAgambenDiego H. Rossello, Northwestern UniversityOverview: The paper focuses on the question of life in thepolitical theory of Giorgio Agamben. Following Arendt'sinsights on necessity and politics, I will argue that Agamben'snotion of life prevents, rather than enables, the return of thepolitical.James Glass, University of Maryland29-301 POSTER SESSION: POLITICALPHILOSOPHY: APPROACHES ANDTHEMESPresenter Contemporary Conceptions of Territory in PoliticalPhilosophyRoom TBA, Board 5, Thur 10:30 amBarton T. Edgerton, London School of EconomicsOverview: This paper discusses two prevailing interpretations ofterritory, territory as jurisdiction and territory as property, andidentifies the need for a theory of territory in contemporarypolitical philosophyPresenter Choice over Principles of Distributive Justice under the Veilof IgnoranceRoom TBA, Board 6, Thur 10:30 amJuan Gabriel Gomez Albarello, Washington University, St.LouisOverview: I model the choice over principles of distributivejustice under the veil of ignorance as coordination game. I showthat the mechanism at work regarding choosing over alternativeprinciples is the assessment of claims to validity.Presenter Conventional Stability: Spontaneous Order vs. CollectiveResolutionRoom TBA, Board 7, Thur 10:30 amTerrence Watson, Bowling Green State UniversityPeter Jaworski, Bowling Green State UniversityOverview: We argue that the norms that emerge spontaneouslyfrom the undirected behavior of individuals provide for morestable and effective coordination than those that are enforced bycollective agencies, especially political institutions.Presenter The Relation Between Legality and Morality in the SocialRoomContracts of Kant and FichteTBA, Board 8, Thur 10:30 amMurray W. Skees, University of KentuckyOverview: Political authority is regarded as the right to set forthlaws and enforce them with the use of coercion. These laws arebinding commands given by the sovereign. However, theuniversal principle of freedom states human beings areautonomous.Presenter When and Why Constitutions Work?RoomTBA, Board 9, Thur 10:30 amAndrea Pozas-Loyo, New York UniversityOverview: When and why do constitutions work? I propose adistinction between Multilateral and Unilateral Constitutionsand argue that it not only clarifies theoretical questions onconstitutional efficacy, but provides sounder grounds forempirical research.30-1 FORMAL THEORIES OF BUREAUCRACYAND DELEGATIONRoomChairPaperTBA, Thur 10:30 amAlan E. Wiseman, The Ohio State UniversityOversight and Agency in Legislative-BureaucraticInteractionSean Gailmard, Northwestern UniversityJeffrey Milyo, University of MissouriOverview: We examine oversight as a tool for addressingagency problems in legislative-bureaucratic interaction. Wemodel oversight as a quick-response tool unilaterally controlledPaperPaperPaperDisc.by the legislature, and empirically explore several implicationsof this view.Commitment and Inefficiency in DelegationSteven Callander, Northwestern UniversityOverview: I propose a model of delegation that differsconceptually from the standard approach, focusing directly onthe nature of expertise. I find that delegation can be successfullydeployed, even absent commitment, but is often of a differentform.Bureaucratic Oversight and Suboptimal ResourceAllocationEthan Bueno de Mesquita, Washington University, St. LouisMatthew Stephenson, Harvard Law SchoolOverview: In our model, oversight distorts agency effort towardthe observable. Agencies have no incentive to hide expendituresso unobservability must come from technological constraints.Dynamic Leadership under Uncertainty: Innovation andPublic WelfareMarcus Alexander, Harvard UniversityOverview: Focusing on the FDA, we argue that leaders are mostsuccessful when they adopt flexible policy choices, easilyamendable to accumulation of new information and possibleradical changes in the nature of the policy problem leaders needto solve.Alan E. Wiseman, The Ohio State University30-3 FORMAL THEORIES OF ELECTIONS:CHALLENGERS AND PRIMARIESRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 10:30 amHans Noel, Princeton UniversityChallenger Entry and Voter LearningGregory A. Huber, Yale UniversitySanford C. Gordon, New York UniversityDimitri Landa, New York UniversityOverview: We develop a model of the interaction betweenchallengers and voters, in which the very fact of a costlychallenge provides information to voters about the quality ofboth the challenger and the incumbent.Modelling Challenger EntryJay Goodliffe, Brigham Young UniversityOverview: I present a theoretical model where multiplepotential challengers make interdependent decisions aboutrunning against the incumbent, and test this model empiricallyusing U.S. House data from 1982-2004.Effects of Primary Elections on Candidate Strategies andChances of SuccessJames F. Adams, University of California, DavisSamuel Merrill, Wilkes UniversityOverview: We model policy and valence issues for officeseekingcandidates facing both a primary and general election.We determine a unique equilibrium for optimal strategies andfind that generally the weaker party benefits by holding aprimary.Effects of Primary Elections on Candidate Strategies andPolicy OutcomesGilles Serra, Harvard UniversityOverview: This is a model of primary elections that derives adivergence result which is then extended to elections withuncontested seats, front-loading and a vice-presidency. It alsocontrasts the effect of policy-motivated versus office-motivatedcandidatesHans Noel, Princeton UniversityJon X. Eguia, California Institute of Technology31-2 ADVANCES IN ON-LINE SURVEYMETHODOLOGY: LEVERAGING THEINTERNET'S UNIQUE CAPABILITIESRoomChairPaperTBA, Thur 10:30 amLynn Vavreck, University of California, Los AngelesMiller and Stokes Revisited: Studying Representation Usingan Internet PanelDoug Rivers, Stanford University