2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Saturday, April 14 – 12:45 pm – 2:20 pm
1-103 ROUNDTABLE: STUDYING GENDER AND
POLITICS OVER TIME: RESEARCH QUESTIONS
AND STRATEGIES (Co-sponsored with Gender and
Politics, see 28-103)
Room Red Lacquer, 4 th Floor, Sat at 12:45 pm
Chair Kira Sanbonmatsu, Rutgers University
Panelist Maryann Barakso, American University
Karen Beckwith, Case Western Reserve University
Corrine McConnaughy, University of Texas, Austin
Pamela Paxton, Ohio State University
Gretchen Ritter, University of Texas, Austin
Aili M. Tripp, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Overview: Panelists on this roundtable will discuss research
questions and methods for analyzing gender and politics over
time.
2-12 PARTY POLARIZATION, PARTY CONVERGENCE
IN DEVELOPED DEMOCRACIES
Room Salon 1, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 12:45 pm
Chair Eric C. Browne, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Paper Polarization and Political Stability in Multiparty Systems
(1945-1998)
Zeev Maoz, University of California, Davis
Zeynep Somer, University of Califonia, Davis
Overview: We argue that low levels of political polarization make
cabinet shifts more likely. We use a new measure of polarization
derived from social networks analysis. This measure combines
ideological distances between parties with the number of seats.
Paper What's Left of the Left? Party Politics and Economic
Globalization
Stephen C. Nelson, Cornell University
Overview: This paper investigates claims about the shifting
ideological position of mainstream left parties in OECD countries.
Using cross-section time series data from party manifestos, I argue
that globalization does not explain Left party shifts.
Paper Party Polarization in OECD Countries. Developments and
Determinants
Philipp Rehm, Duke University
Overview: How did (societal and party) polarization develop in
OECD countries in the last few decades? What explains the
observed differences? The paper presents new measures and new
data and explores determinants of polarization in comparative
perspective.
Paper The Construction of Economic Facts: Labour Neoliberalism in
the Antipodes
Jonathan Swarts, Purdue University, North Central
Overview: This paper examines neoliberalism under Australian
and New Zealand Labour as a discursive construction of political
elites. It argues that the discourse of “objective” economic “facts”
was fundamentally a strategic, contestable political strategy.
Disc. Eric C. Browne, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
3-11 INEQUALITY AND EDUCATION
Room Salon 2, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 12:45 pm
Chair Christian Ponce de Leon, University of Chicago
Paper Political Determinants of Public Expenditure Between Levels
of Education
Marco A. Fernandez, Duke University
Overview: The study of the impact of political regimes over
education spending has put little attention to the tradeoffs
politicians face when they allocate resources among different
education levels. In this paper I test several political economy
hypothesis regard
Paper How Governments Decide to Make Human Capital
Stephen Kosack, Yale University
Overview: In this paper, I construct a theory that governments
provide education systems entirely based on specific political
calculations, not economic or other welfare considerations, and
test it in 3 carefully-selected countries: Taiwan, Ghana, and Brazil.
Paper Democracy and Education Spending
Amy H. Liu, Emory University
Overview: I review the democracies-spend-more-on-education
claim by directly testing two mechanisms. The results suggest it is
not democracy per se that matters but rather the participation costs
for society and the entry barriers for challengers.
Paper Democracy and Inequality: Elections and Redistribution in
Brazil
Fabiana V. P. Machado, University of Rochester
Overview: This study argues that both poverty and inequality may
hinder the demand for forms of redistribution that are viewed as
effective in ameliorating these very conditions, defying the
assumption that the poor are always high demanders of
redistribution.
Paper Educational Attainment in Developing Countries: The Legacy
of Landlords
Tim C. Wegenast, University Pompeu, Fabra
Overview: Educational distribution is related to land ownership
structures and subsequent political power constellations in LDC’s.
States showing cohesive and resistant landowners tend to neglect
secondary education while overemphasizing higher schooling.
Disc. Christian Ponce de Leon, University of Chicago
Hiram J. Irizarry, Ohio State University
4-12 CULTURE AND DEMOCRACY: NEW
ARGUMENTS AND FINDINGS FROM SURVEY
RESEARCH
Room PDR 4, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 12:45 pm
Chair David Samuels, University of Minnesota
Paper Building Social Capital: Civil Society and Context in Central
America
Patricia Bayer Richard, Ohio University
John A. Booth, University of North Texas
Overview: Using two waves of surveys from six Central American
nations, we investigate changes in the relative contributions of
civil society and socio-political context to the formation of social
capital that promotes and sustains democracy.
Paper The Meaning of Democracy in Emerging Democracies
Doh C. Shin, University of Missouri
Overview: This paper explores how the mass publics of Asian
countries understand democracy. By analyzing the East Asia
Barometers and surveys recently conducted by the Asia
Foundation, the paper will compare its meaning across a broad set
of Asian nations.
Paper A More Acceptable Game? Changing Mass Attitudes and
Deepening Democracy
Matthew D. Fails, University of Missouri, Columbia
Heather N. Pierce, University of Missouri, Columbia
Overview: We empirically evaluate a central tenet of the political
culture approach to democratic consolidation by testing how
changes in mass commitment to democracy lead to a deepening of
liberal democratic governance.
Paper Does Support for Democracy Matter?
Christopher Claassen, Washington University, St Louis
Robert Mattes, University of Cape Town
Overview: We use cross-national survey data to argue that public
support for democracy, measured in relation to the current 'supply'
of democracy, is a more powerful explanation of democratization
than Inglehart and Welzel's 'self-expression values'.
Disc. Chappell Lawson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5-7 COALITION BARGAINING AND POLITICAL
POWER
Room Salon 4, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 12:45 pm
Chair Katri Sieberg, Binghamton University
Paper Institutions and the Survival of Authoritarian Regimes
Susanne D. Michalik, University of Konstanz
Overview: This paper deals with the effect of ?democratic?
political institutions in authoritarian regimes.
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