2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

19-202 INFORMAL ROUNDTABLE: YOUNG ANDOLD VOTERS IN COMPARATIVEPERSPECTIVERoom TBA, Thur 3:45 pmPresenter Do Older People Vote Differently? A Longitudinal Analysisof Britain and GermanyAchim Goerres, London School of EconomicsOverview: Several hypotheses of older people's votingbehaviour are tested. Older people can be different from otherage groups because they belong to different generations.Socialization at young age is more important than life cycleinterests at old age.21-2 ELECTORAL RULES AND PARTYDISCIPLINERoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 3:45 pmTheodore T. Hindson, Texas State University, San MarcosPolitics of Electoral Defection: Do Electoral SystemsMatter?Alex C. Chang, University of IowaOverview: In this paper, I use game theory to simulate partylegislatorrelation. I find that benefit-cost ratio of legislativeseats determines the frequency of political defection. A crossnationalanalysis also proves this finding.Party Discipline, Voter Heterogeneity, and the Notion ofRepresentation: The Strange Case of SpainJeremy J. Albright, Indiana University, BloomingtonOverview: This paper explores how multi-level government inSpain has functioned to compensate for substantial distortionscreated by the country’s electoral system.Understanding the Electoral CollegeRobert M. Alexander, Ohio Northern UniversityBrittani Knisely, Ohio Northern UniversityTiffany Ferry, Ohio Northern UniversityAdam Gallagher, Ohio Northern UniversitySteve Kochheiser, Ohio Northern UniversityBarbara Tate, Ohio Northern UniversityTina Loughry, Ohio Northern UniversityOverview: This essay uses a mail survey of presidential electorsfrom the 2000 and 2004 campaigns in an effort to unmask theseelusive gatekeepers to the American presidency.Michael F. Thies, University of California, Los Angeles22-1 GOVERNMENT RESPONSIVENESS TOPUBLIC POLICY PREFERENCES ACROSSPOLICY DOMAINSRoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Thur 3:45 pmLarry Bartels, Princeton UniversityIssue Salience and Electoral AccountabilityBrandice Canes-Wrone, Princeton UniversityDavid Brady, Stanford UniversityMichael Cutrone, Princeton UniversityOverview: We examine whether the impact of House members'legislative votes on electoral performance depends upon thesalience of the legislative votes.Issue Ownership and Representation Across Policy DomainsPatrick J. Egan, University of California, BerkeleyOverview: This paper presents a theory and a test of how "issueownership"--the varying degree to which the public trusts thepolitical parties to handle policy issues--causes therepresentation of constituency opinion to differ across policydomains.Public Opinion, Race, and Public PolicyJohn Griffin, University of Notre DameBrian Newman, Pepperdine UniversityOverview: We examine racial differences in responsiveness,comparing changes in federal spending across nine policydomains with racial groups' preferences. We find that racialminorities exert much more influence on issues they care moreabout.PaperPaperDisc.Inequality and Responsiveness to Public Preferences AcrossIssue DomainsMartin Gilens, Princeton UniversityOverview: My previous research has shown that high incomeAmericans are much more likely to see their policy preferencesreflected in government policy. In this paper, I explore thelimits of this inequality and it's variation across issue areas.Representational SegmentationLawrence R. Jacobs, University of MinnesotaBenjamin I. Page, Northwestern UniversityOverview: Our paper will synthesize new and old research onunequal voice and disparities in representation. Our basic focuswill be to identify systematic forces in the American politicalsystem that privilege the voice and influence of segments of thepublicBenjamin I. Page, Northwestern UniversityLarry Bartels, Princeton University22-203 INFORMAL ROUNDTABLE:MANIPULATING PUBLIC OPINIONRoom TBA, Thur 3:45 pmPresenter Influencing Opinion to Agree with Policy: A Strategy forChangeAmy M. Beckius-Johnson, University of South DakotaOverview: The focus of this paper is to develop a strategy toreshape public opinion regarding unpopular policy.Observations of political behavior from the public will be usedas well as modern examples of latent policy recovery.Presenter Priming, Personality, and Perceptions of the United NationsPaul W. Burton, Michigan State UniversityOverview: This project uses a survey experiment to test theeffect of positive and negative stimuli on the public'sperceptions of the United Nations. The goal of which is toachieve a better understanding of how public opinion can bemanipulated.22-204 INFORMAL ROUNDTABLE: ATTITUDESABOUT HEALTH CARERoom TBA, Thur 3:45 pmPresenter Mass Media and Public Opinion in Canada: The State ofHealthcareKelly R. Blidook, McGill UniversityOverview: The issue of healthcare has been dominant in recentCanadian elections and has remained a key issue on the policyagenda beyond elections. This paper aims to expose mediaframing effects on public perceptions of the actual state ofhealthcare.23-10 COMMUNITY DIVERSITY AND POLITICALPARTICIPATIONRoomChairPaperPaperPaperTBA, Thur 3:45 pmDavid E. Campbell, University of Notre DameResidential Income Diversity and Political ParticipationDavid E. Campbell, University of Notre DameJohn Griffin, University of Notre DameOverview: This project will examine whether the effects ofresidential income diversity on the civic engagement andparticipation of citizens varies across income groups.Racial Context, Economic Competition, and PoliticalParticipationTetsuya Matsubayashi, Texas A&M UniversityOverview: Using data from Citizen Participation Study mergedwith 1990 census data, this research addresses three questions:Does racial context have a significant effect on massparticipation? How can we modify exiting arguments by takingaccount of other conRace, Racial Environment and Political Participation inAmerican CitiesDaniel Rubenson, University of MontrealOverview: This paper analyses the effects of racial environmenton electoral and nonelectoral political participation in American118