2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperPaperDisc.terms and reciprocal causality are methodological issues to beaddressed.Economic Inequality and DemocracyWalter C Wilson, University of OklahomaOverview: This paper examines the relationship betweeneconomic inequality and the quality of democracy to determineif a relationship between these social variables exists. Findingssuggest evidence of a relationship and directions for futureresearch.Democratic Marketism: Selling Democracy ShortAnthony S. Marcum, University of MarylandMelissa J. Buehler, Purdue UniversityOverview: If a transitioning democratic polity does not providefor credible investments through rule of law, it will havedifficulties developing an economy and transitioning todemocracy. We demonstrate that socialization is vital to ademocratic regime.Frederick Solt, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale4-101 ROUNDTABLE: PROSPECTS OFDEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CHINARoomChairPanelistTBA, Thur 3:45 pmStephen Manning, University of Detroit, MercyBruce Gilley, Princeton UniversityEdward Friedman, University of Wisconsin, MadisonBarrett McCormick, Marquette UniversityJohn Rapp, Beloit CollegeRalph Thaxton, Brandeis UniversityOverview: This roundtable will discuss Bruce Gilley'scontroversial 2004 book 'China's Democratic Future. How ItWill Happen and Where It Will Lead'.5-4 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ANDEUROPEAN INSTITUTIONSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 3:45 pmDebra Holzhauer, Southeast Missouri State UniversityDevolution and Environmental PoliticsDebra Holzhauer, Southeast Missouri State UniversityOverview: Examination of the impact of devolution uponenvironmental politics in the UK.Outsiders Looking In: The Rosia Montana Gold MiningProject in RomaniaCristina E. Parau, London School of EconomicsOverview: This paper examines how the EU impacts State-civilsociety relations through detailed micro-analysis, thoseEuropeanisation mechanisms which have empowered civilsociety and altered the course of the Romanian government'sdecision-making processes.The Influence of Electoral Cleavage Patterns onEnvironmental GroupLori M. Poloni-Staudinger, Indiana University, BloomingtonOverview: This paper seeks to explore the relationship betweenchanges in electoral cleavages and concomitant changes inactivity choice among environmental non-governmentalorganizations in three West European countries, the UnitedKingdom, France and Germany.Catherine E. Netjes, Free University, Amsterdam6-4 FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL RELATIONSRoomChairPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 3:45 pmTony L. Hill, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyYouth Employment Policy and Intergovernmental Relationsin CanadaOkyeon Y. Hong, Seoul National UniversityOverview: By examining youth employment policy, this paperexplores how the current strategy of integrating social welfarepolicy with education policy in accordance with a neo-liberalframework has contributed to the elusive social union inCanada.William C. Green, Morehead State University7-9 SPLIT-TICKET VOTING IN COMPARATIVEPERSPECTIVERoomChairPaperTBA, Thur 3:45 pmBarry C. Burden, Harvard UniversitySplit-Ticket Incentives Under Alternative E-Voting Devices:An Analysis of the E-Vote Pilot Conducted During the 2005Argentine National ElectionErnesto Calvo, University of HoustonOverview: Taking advantage of a large scale e-vote experiment,this paper estimates the effect of different e-vote designs on thelikelihood that voters will select different party candidates forthe National Congress and the Local Legislature.Paper Ticket-Splitting as Electoral Insurance: The Mexican 2000ElectionsGretchen Helmke, University of RochesterOverview: This paper develops and tests a new theory of ticketsplittingbased on voter uncertainty using survey and ecologicaldata from the Mexican 2000 elections.PaperPaperPaperDisc.Party Identification in Third Wave Democracies: Brazil's2002 ElectionsLucio R. Renno, University of ArizonaBarry C. Ames, University of PittsburghAndrew Baker, Northeastern UniversityOverview: Is party identification a stable and exogenousdeterminant of vote choice or is it endogenous to elections,outcomes and political events? We propose to study the stabilityof partisanship in Brazil, using a unique four-wave panel dataset.Presidential Coattail Effects in Comparative PerspectiveDavid J. Samuels, University of MinnesotaMark P. Jones, Rice UniversityOverview: This project assesses the institutional sources ofpresidential coattail effects in the world's presidentialdemocracies, mainly in Latin America.Split Ticket in Mixed Electoral Systems: the 2001 ItalianGeneral ElectionsKamleh Khatib, London School of EconomicsOverview: This paper uses several quantitative methodologiesto test the impact of the policy platform of candidates as well asthe type of district on the phenomenon of split ticket voting inmixed electoral systems.Harvey D. Palmer, University of MississippiElizabeth Zechmeister, University of California, Davis8-4 PARTIES AND PORK IN JAPANRoomChairPaperTBA, Thur 3:45 pmRobert J. Weiner, Cornell UniversityThe LDP's Influence on the Redistribution of PublicInvestmentKeiko Tamada, Fukuoka UniversityOverview: This paper examines the relation between the LiberalDemocratic Party (LDP) and the redistribution of publicinvestment in Japan. Contrary to general beliefs, it is found thatthe LDP has only weak power over the redistribution of publicinvestment.Paper Electoral Reform and Pork Barrel Politics in Japan, 1991-2000Tomoaki Nomi, Southeast Missouri State UniversityOverview: This paper examines the pork barrel politics in Japanfrom 1991 to 2000. The impacts of the changes in the electoralsystem and the end of LDP's one party rule on the budgettransfer from the national to local governments are analyzed.PaperThe Myth of Electoral Advantage from InfrastructureInvestment in JapanJun Saito, Yale UniversityOverview: This study challenges the conventional wisdom thatinvestment on highways and bullet trains was the key to theelectoral success of Japan's LDP. A formal model and empiricalevidence corroborates the above claim.114