Lawmaking in American Legislatures: an empirical investigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Clinton ◽  
Mark D. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Majority Party ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Observable Data ◽  
Law Making

AbstractGiven pervasive gridlock at the national level, state legislatures are increasingly the place where notable policy change occurs. Investigating such change is difficult because it is often hard to characterise policy change and use observable data to evaluate theoretical predictions; it is subsequently unclear whether law-making explanations focusing on the US Congress also apply to state legislatures. We use several measures of state policy outcomes to examine lawmaking in state legislatures across nearly two decades, and we argue for using simulation studies to connect theoretical predictions to empirical specifications and help interpret the theoretical relevance of estimated correlations. Doing so reveals that the observed law-making outcomes we study are most consistent with law-making models emphasising the importance of the chamber median and the powers of the governor rather than those that focus on the preferences of the majority party.

Partisan agenda control in the US house: A theoretical exploration

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery A Jenkins ◽  
Nathan W Monroe
Keyword(s):  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
Voter Model ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Agenda Control ◽  
Majority Party ◽  
Party Government ◽  
The Us ◽  
Median Voter Model ◽  
Party Members

While a number of scholars have focused on the importance of partisan agenda control in the US House, few have examined its uneven consequences within the majority party. In this paper, we explore ‘counterfactual’ utility distributions within the majority party, by comparing policy outcomes under a party-less median voter model to policy outcomes under party-based positive and negative agenda control models. We show that the distribution of policy losses and benefits resulting from agenda control are quite similar for both the positive and negative varieties. In both cases, moderate majority-party members are made worse off by the exercise of partisan agenda control, while those to the extreme side of the majority-party median benefit disproportionately. We also consider the benefit of agenda control for the party as a whole, by looking at the way changes in majority-party homogeneity affect the summed utility across members. Interestingly, we find that when the distance between the floor and majority-party medians decreases, the overall value of positive and negative agenda control diminishes. However, we also find support for the ‘conditional party government’ notion that, as majority-party members’ preferences become more similar, they have an increased incentive to grant agenda-setting power to their leaders.

Shifting party goals: Party electoral support and legislative behavior in the majority and the minority

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406882110524
Author(s):  
Andrew O Ballard ◽  
Hans JG Hassell
Keyword(s):  
Primary Elections ◽  
Legislative Behavior ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Majority Party ◽  
Primary Election ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
The Us ◽  
Party Support

While scholars agree that parties are interested in both pragmatic (electoral) and programmatic (policy) goals, they disagree about the relative importance of those goals. How parties weight these goals has implications for the effect of party involvement on legislative behavior. We argue that parties emphasize these goals differently based on whether they are in the majority or minority. We examine links between party support in primary elections for the US Congress and subsequent legislative behaviors, finding that candidates who received more party support during the primary election were more likely to engage in partisan efforts in the next Congress. Further, party support of incoming legislators is linked to increased partisan behavior through leapfrog representation. We find that these relationships are stronger for majority party candidates, suggesting that parties put a greater emphasis on winning majorities when in the minority but a greater emphasis on policy congruence when in the majority.

scholarly journals Local Union Organization and Law Making in the US Congress

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Becher ◽  
Daniel Stegmueller ◽  
Konstantin Käppner
Keyword(s):  
Local Union ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Law Making

Interaction of Ukrainian Diaspora and the USA Government Regarding Celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day on January 22

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (47) ◽  
pp. 136-145
Author(s):  
Halyna Shchyhelska
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
The United States ◽  
100Th Anniversary ◽  
Totalitarian Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
The Usa

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukrainian independence. OnJanuary 22, 1918, the Ukrainian People’s Republic proclaimed its independence by adopting the IV Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada, although this significant event was «wiped out» from the public consciousness on the territory of Ukraine during the years of the Soviet totalitarian regime. At the same time, January 22 was a crucial event for the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA. This article examines how American Ukrainians interacted with the USA Government institutions regarding the celebration and recognition of the Ukrainian Independence day on January 22. The attention is focused on the activities of ethnic Ukrainians in the United States, directed at the organization of the special celebration of the Ukrainian Independence anniversaries in the US Congress and cities. Drawing from the diaspora press and Congressional Records, this article argues that many members of Congress participated in the observed celebration and expressed kind feelings to the Ukrainian people, recognised their fight for freedom, during the House of Representatives and Senate sessions. Several Congressmen submitted the resolutions in the US Congress urging the President of United States to designate January 22 as «Ukrainian lndependence Day». January 22 was proclaimed Ukrainian Day by the governors of fifteen States and mayors of many cities. Keywords: January 22, Ukrainian independence day, Ukrainian diaspora, USA, interaction, Congress

scholarly journals Analysis of 220 Years of Floodplain Population Dynamics in the US at Different Spatial Scales

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Firoza Akhter ◽  
Maurizio Mazzoleni ◽  
Luigia Brandimarte
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
The Us ◽  
Over Time

In this study, we explore the long-term trends of floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales in the contiguous United States (U.S.). We exploit different types of datasets from 1790–2010—i.e., decadal spatial distribution for the population density in the US, global floodplains dataset, large-scale data of flood occurrence and damage, and structural and nonstructural flood protection measures for the US. At the national level, we found that the population initially settled down within the floodplains and then spread across its territory over time. At the state level, we observed that flood damages and national protection measures might have contributed to a learning effect, which in turn, shaped the floodplain population dynamics over time. Finally, at the county level, other socio-economic factors such as local flood insurances, economic activities, and socio-political context may predominantly influence the dynamics. Our study shows that different influencing factors affect floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales. These facts are crucial for a reliable development and implementation of flood risk management planning.

Is the firearm epidemic in the US getting worse?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Tedesco ◽  
K Y C Adja ◽  
F Rallo ◽  
C Reno ◽  
M P Fantini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
National Level ◽  
Gun Violence ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Western World ◽  
Diagnostic Code ◽  
The Us ◽  
Icd 10 ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Annual Decline

Abstract Background The US is the least regulated firearm market in the Western world and firearm violence is a major public health issue. Firearms account for 40,000 deaths in the US annually, which is higher than other high-income countries. Although most of the gun-related deaths in the US are the result of suicide attempts and self-inflicted injuries, nearly 40% of them come from accidents, assaults, or police intervention. Methods We measured the number of non-self-inflicted firearm-related ED visits, by including patients discharged with diagnostic ICD-9-CM (ICD-10 for 2016) codes of accidents, assaults or legal intervention resulting in firearm injuries between 2006-2016. We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUPnet). From the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research we obtained data on non-suicidal firearm-related deaths over the period 2006-2017. To identify the cause of death we used the ICD-10 codes. Temporal changes of rates of ED visits and deaths were evaluated using Joinpoint Software. Results In 2006 there were a total of 79,998 ED visits with a diagnostic code of firearm-related injury, and this number showed a non-significant 2.7% annual decline between 2006-2013 (p = 0.06) followed by a significant 19.4% annual increase between 2013-2016 (p < 0.05), resulting in 111.305 visits in 2016. The number of non-suicidal firearm-related deaths showed a significant 2.2% annual decline between 2006-2014 (p < 0.05), followed by a significant 10.3% APC (p < 0.05) between 2014-2017. Conclusions Data showed steady rates until 2013 and a striking increasing trend starting from 2013. Firearm-related deaths followed the same trends. Our data show that in the last four detectable years there has been a new concerning wave of gun violence and consequently a higher number of fatalities. Analysis limitations: we used national-level aggregate data and coding accuracy may be not consistent nationwide. Key messages In the last four detectable years there has been a new concerning wave of gun violence and consequently a higher number of fatalities nationwide. The US firearm related deaths epidemic urges for new policies and preventive measures, such as stricter background checks and restrictions on guns ownership.

John Philip Sousa’s Historic Resistance to Technology in Music Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 153660062110339
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Thibeault
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Digital Music ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us

In this article, I explore John Philip Sousa’s historic resistance to music technology and his belief that sound recordings would negatively impact music education and musical amateurism. I review Sousa’s primary arguments from two 1906 essays and his testimony to the US Congress from the same year, based on the fundamental premise that machines themselves sing or perform, severing the connection between live listener and performer and thus rendering recordings a poor substitute for real music. Sousa coined the phrase “canned music,” and I track engagement with this phrase among the hundreds of newspapers and magazines focused on Sousa’s resistance. To better understand the construction of Sousa’s beliefs, I then review how his rich musical upbringing around the US Marine Band and the theaters of Washington DC lead to his conception of music as a dramatic ritual. And I examine the curious coda of Sousa’s life, during which he recanted his beliefs and conducted his band for radio, finding that in fact these experiences reinforced Sousa’s worries. The discussion considers how Sousa’s ideas can help us better to examine the contemporary shift to digital music by combining Sousa’s ideas with those of Sherry Turkle.

scholarly journals The mission thing

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Ted Turner
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Laissez Faire

While the US congress was debating whether to continue China's Most Favoured Nation status, and Clinton was going back on his election promises, CNN's boss in Hong Kong was appealing for a laissez-faire approach to human rights

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