Minority Voices and Citizen Attitudes about Government Responsiveness in the American States: Do Social and Institutional Context Matter?

2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
RODNEY E. HERO ◽  
CAROLINE J. TOLBERT
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
State Level ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
American States ◽  
Racial Context ◽  
Government Responsiveness ◽  
The Impact

Previous research has shown that institutional factors, particularly ‘direct democracy’, along with racial context, shape policy outcomes in the fifty American states. But less is understood about the impact of such factors on attitudes towards government of racial and ethnic minorities. The passage of ballot initiatives targeting minority interests might be expected to have a negative effect on these groups. This study considers the impact of institutional and social context on attitudes about government responsiveness (external efficacy), drawing on pooled NES survey data from 1988–98 merged with state level data. Consistent with previous research, which was based on a single year, there is strong evidence that citizens in states with frequent exposure to direct democracy are more likely to perceive that government is responsive to their needs. At the same time, direct democracy did not have the hypothesized detrimental impact on racial and ethnic group attitudes towards government in general. State racial context also did not have a measurable impact on individual-level attitudes. Regardless of state environmental contexts, however, racial and ethnic minorities (with the exception of Latinos) reported less confidence in government than whites. The findings have broader implications, particularly given the growing racial and ethnic diversity and the ongoing politics of democratic inclusion in America.

The Impact of Multimember State Legislative Districts on Welfare Policy

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Larimer
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Legislative Districts ◽  
State Legislative ◽  
Generous Welfare

Electing members of legislatures through multimember districts (MMDs) reduces racial and ethnic minorities' descriptive representation in those bodies, but is their substantive representation also hurt? Do legislative MMDs lead to worse policy outcomes for minorities independent of their effect on legislative demographics? To address these questions, I examine welfare policy in the states from 1997 to 2000. I find evidence that suggests that states whose upper legislative chamber is comprised of MMDs have significantly less generous welfare policy. I conclude that MMDs do indeed damage the substantive representation of racial and ethnic minorities in legislatures, independent of their effect on descriptive representation.

Social Capital, Racial Context, and Incarcerations in the American States

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
State Level ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
American States ◽  
Racial Context ◽  
Social Controls ◽  
Social Empathy ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the differential effects of social capital on policy equity in state outcomes. Specifically, it explores the relationship between social capital and incarceration rates in the American states paying particular attention to racial disparities in incarceration rates. Building on work by Hero, I present a theoretical explanation and empirical support for how social capital operates differently under different racial contexts. I argue that social capital enhances social empathy in homogeneous contexts and social controls in diverse contexts. Using state-level longitudinal data on the contiguous states, I find that social capital is positively associated with incarcerations, but only for African Americans. Furthermore, the effects of social capital appear to be conditional on racial context where this relationship is stronger as minority group size increases.

scholarly journals Advancing Alzheimer’s Disease Care and Services Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 745-745
Author(s):  
Lenora Smith ◽  
Roland Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
African American ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research shows consistent and adverse disparities among racial and ethnic minorities compared to non-Hispanic Whites in the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, mortality, participation in clinical trials, use of medications and other interventions, health care expenditures, and quality-of-life outcomes. The literature suggests numerous underlying causes, including factors related to measurement of the disease, genetics, socioeconomic factors, cultural differences, lack of culturally competent interventions, and discrimination in services and care. Although these disparities are well known, little is known about the effectiveness of various strategies to address these differences within the context of Alzheimer’s disease services and care. This symposium aims to contribute to this knowledge. The first presentation examines the role of race with marital status and risk for dementia using data from the Health and Retirement Study. Results suggest differences for unmarried White and unmarried older adults of color, which can inform dementia care services. The second presentation highlights the opportunities and challenges of facilitating cognitive impairment screenings among African American congregations. The third presentation introduces attitudes about brain donation among African American research participants and suggestions to increase involvement. The symposium concludes with a presentation on hearing care disparities in dementia with practical recommendations on how to close this gap in hearing care. The findings from these papers contribute significantly to the impact of ethnoracial differences in dementia and the need to include more diverse populations in ADRD research to promote equity. Alzheimer’s Disease Research Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

Fiscal Effects of the Voter Initiative Reconsidered: Addressing Endogeneity

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J. Marschall ◽  
Anirudh V.S. Ruhil
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Full Information Maximum Likelihood ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
American States ◽  
Initiative Process ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Voter Initiative ◽  
Biased Estimates ◽  
Positive Effect

Several recent studies have investigated the relationship between direct democracy and public policy outcomes, with mixed findings. These inconsistencies may stem, in part, from researchers' failure to recognize that direct democracy institutions are distributed nonrandomly across the American states. That is, certain factors may lead a state to adopt the initiative process and influence other policy choices. We revisit the question of how the initiative influences state fiscal policy using panel data from 1960–2000 and a full-information maximum likelihood estimator that explicitly accounts for the endogeneity of the initiative. Our findings suggest that failure to endogenize the initiative in empirical analyses leads to substantially biased estimates of its effects. In particular, we find that once factors that predict whether a state has adopted the initiative are controlled, the initiative has a positive effect on state revenue generation and spending.

Americanness and the “Other” Americans

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-429
Author(s):  
Stacey Greene ◽  
Gabrielle Gray ◽  
Niambi Michele Carter ◽  
Ray Block
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
American Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Actions

American identity has become a racialized norm that is primarily applied to those racially identified as White. We examine what it means to be an American from the perspective of racial and ethnic minorities who may not be viewed as prototypical Americans. Because we know comparatively little about what American identity means for those who are not White, it is important to understand this attachment in order to understand how “other” Americans articulate their identity and how their political actions and attitudes are influenced by those sentiments. Using the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, we examine attachment to American identity for racial and ethnic minorities (i.e., Blacks, Asians, and Latino/a people) to evaluate levels of political participation and sentiments toward discrimination. Using a novel measure of Americanness (measured here as the extent to which people feel “allegiance” to America and their sense of “belonging” as Americans) we describe the differences between how racial and ethnic groups view their American identity, and how that perception influences electoral and nonelectoral participation. We find not only that there are differences in how various groups attach to American identity, but also that the impact of this identity attachment on electoral and nonelectoral participation is moderated by race and ethnicity.

scholarly journals Democracy, Institutions and Attitudes about Citizen Influence on Government

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHAUN BOWLER ◽  
TODD DONOVAN
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
State Level ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
American States ◽  
Participatory Institutions ◽  
National Election Study ◽  
American National Election Study

Theorists such as Carole Pateman and Benjamin Barber suggest that democratic participation will engage citizens and lead them to have more positive regard for political processes and democratic practices. The American states provide a setting where provisions for direct voter participation in legislation vary substantially. If participatory institutions have an ‘educative role’ that shapes perceptions of government, then citizens exposed to direct democracy may be more likely to claim they understand politics and be more likely to perceive that they are capable of participation. They may also be more likely to perceive that government is responsive to them. We merge data on state-level political institutions with data from the 1992 American National Election Study to test these hypotheses with OLS models. Our primary hypotheses find support. We present evidence that the effects of exposure to direct democracy on internal and external political efficacy rival the effects of formal education.

Direct Democracy in Education: How Ballot Initiatives Challenge Equal Opportunity and Risk Tyrannizing Underrepresented Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 001312452093145
Author(s):  
Amy N. Farley
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
State Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tyranny Of The Majority

States have increasingly used ballot initiatives to legislate education policy in recent years, although the consequences for educational equity and justice have been underexamined. This article investigates the extent to which ballot initiatives disproportionately affect traditionally minoritized students, with particular attention to two phenomena: tyranny of the majority and racial threat hypothesis. Results across models consistently find that minority-targeted education initiatives pass at significantly higher rates than those that do not target minoritized students, and they garner considerably more yes votes regardless of passage. For states with more people of color, this effect is magnified, suggesting the potential for tyranny of the majority may increase when there are greater proportions of people of color within a state. This research contributes to the body of literature regarding the impact of state-level policy on education and sheds light on the benefits and potentially negative consequences of the ballot initiative process as an education policy making tool, particularly for our nation’s most disadvantaged students.

scholarly journals Depression in Racial and Ethnic Minorities: the Impact of Nativity and Discrimination

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henna Budhwani ◽  
Kristine Ria Hearld ◽  
Daniel Chavez-Yenter
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities ◽  
The Impact

Political Equality in the American States

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Flavin
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
State Politics ◽  
State Level ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
American States ◽  
Unequal Rates ◽  
Government Responsiveness ◽  
Political Opinions

This review essay illustrates the importance and utility of studying political equality among rich and poor citizens at the state level, reviews what is known in three key areas of political equality research in the states (unequal rates of political participation, unequal government responsiveness to citizens’ political opinions, and public policy and inequality), and suggests possible future avenues of inquiry. The ultimate aim is to organize and integrate existing knowledge about political equality in the American states and spur future investigations that will further extend understanding among researchers and practitioners of state politics.

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