2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Friday, April 21 – 10: 30 am – 12:15 pm1-1 BIOLOGY AND GENETICS AS THEFUTURE OF POLITICAL SCIENCEINQUIRYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 10:30 amAndrea Bonnicksen, Northern Illinois UniversityGenetic Configurations of Political Phenomena: NewTheories, New MethodsIra H. Carmen, University of IllinoisOverview: I present a new theory -- sociogenomics -- to replacebehavioralism and rational choice as the salient paradigm ofpolitical science inquiry. The paradigm is based on therelationship of DNA to the attitudes and behaviors of politicalactors.Genetics and PoliticsJohn R. Hibbing, University of Nebraska, LincolnJohn R. Alford, Rice UniversityOverview: In this paper, we review the empirical evidence,biological mechanisms, and rationale for the relevance of genesto sociopolitical attitudes and behaviors.The Genetic Basis of Voter BehaviorJames H. Fowler, University of California, DavisOverview: I match voter registration records from Los AngelesCounty to a volunteer adult twin registry of same sexmonozygotic and dizygotic twins to show that genetics plays asignificant role in determining who votes.Public Opinion and Biofeedback: The Interaction ofEmotion and AmbivalenceMitchel N. Herian, University of Nebraska, LincolnOverview: Using Galvanic Skin Response indices and selfreportedemotional reactions toward three politicians. It wasfound that it was possible to accurately predict emotional selfreportsin one of three cases.Roger Masters, Dartmouth College2-3 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 10:30 amBrian J. Gerber, West Virginia UniversityNorway, Sweden, and Finland’s Radical Natural Resourceand Energy PoliciesFrank T. Manheim, George Mason UniversityOverview: Norway, Sweden, and Finland are internationalleaders in environmental and energy policies. Performancebased,rather than command-and-control environmental policiesprevail. These policies facilitate achievement of simultaneousbreakthroughsDo Greens Make a Difference? Their Impact on EuropeanEnergy PoliciesFrancis McGowan, University of SussexOverview: This paper explores the impact of Green parties onpolicies in western Europe. We look at two cases where Greenparties may have been influential - phasing out nuclear powerand encouraging renewable energy.Turning Wittfogel on His Head: China's EmergingHydraulic SocietyAndrew C. Mertha, Washington University, St. LouisOverview: In this paper, I analyze the growing politicalparticipation in China today, specifically with regard to itshydropower policy making and project implementation.Drawing from two cases in Sichuan and three from YunnanBrian J. Gerber, West Virginia University2-9 INTERESTS, THE ECONOMY ANDINSTITUTIONS -- VOTER CHOICERoomChairPaperTBA, Fri 10:30 amKarl Kaltenthaler, University of AkronPerformance Pressure: Patterns of Partisanship and theEconomic VoteMark A. Kayser, University of RochesterChristopher Wlezien, Temple UniversityOverview: Declining partisan attachment has strengthened theeconomic vote in countries with high clarity of responsibility.PaperPaperPaperDisc.A Micro-Level Study of the Effects of Clarity ofResponsibility on Economic VotingErik R. Tillman, Emory UniversityOverview: This paper examines the mediating role of theinstitutional clarity of responsibility on the effects of sociotropiceconomic judgments on party choice and abstention, usingcross-national election study data.Differences in Voting Behavior in East and West GermanyMelanie Kintz, Western Michigan UniversityOverview: This paper is analyzing the results from the 2005Bundestag election from the perspective of differences betweenEast and West Germans in their vote choice.Globalization, Room to Maneuver Constraints and VoteChoiceTimothy T. Hellwig, University of HoustonOverview: Paper argues that voters respond to globalization byreducing the weight assigned to economic considerations and, tocompensate, by increasing the weight assigned to non-economicissues. Analyses of British and French data support theargument.Karl Kaltenthaler, University of Akron3-15 FINANCIAL CRISES COMPARED: ASIAAND LATIN AMERICARoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Fri 10:30 amSeung-Whan Choi, University of Illinois, ChicagoThe Impact of Economic Reforms on Corporate GovernanceNancy E. Brune, Princeton UniversityOverview: This paper explores the impact of neo-liberaleconomic reforms (i.e. privatization) on governance in emergingeconomies and the institutions that mediate these effects.Political Institutions and Financial Market Regulation:Argentina and Thailand in the 1990'sWongi Choe, University of OklahomaOverview: This paper examines how party institutionalconstraints shapes the ways in which politicians deal withfinancial regulations by comparing the financial reformexperiences in Argentina and Thailand in the 1990s.The Link Between Domestic Political Institutions and AsianFinancial CrisesJung In Jo, Lee UniversityOverview: In this paper, I attempt to answer several puzzlingquestions on economic crises focusing on political institutions.Is the timing of crises related to political institutions? Forinstance, are some regime types or party systems prone tocrisis?Power Distribution and the Resolution of Financial CrisesGabriela Nava-Campos, Northwestern UniversityOverview: The paper examines how power distribution affectsthe resolution and costs of financial crises. It shows that whilepolities with more dispersed power distributions take longer toresolve these problems, they also do so at a lower cost tosociety.The Paradox of Liberalization: State, Market and Banks inMexicoIrma E. Sandoval-Ballesteros, Institute for Social Research,UNAMOverview: Through an analysis of the banking sector in Mexico,this paper argues that the economic reforms of the 1980s and1990s implied a reorientation, not a reduction, of the role of thestate and a reinvigoration, not erosion, of interest group politics.Armando Razo, Indiana University, Bloomington3-19 DANGEROUS LIAISONS: ELECTIONMANAGEMENT BODIES AND POLITICALPARTIESRoomChairPaperTBA, Fri 10:30 amBeatriz Magaloni, Stanford UniversityIdeological Divides Among Magistrates in an AppealsCourt: An Inspection of Mexico's Election TribunalEric Magar, ITAM, Mexico CityFederico Estevez, ITAM-Mexico City142