Zero-sum of all fears: intergroup threat, contact, and voting behavior in Northern Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald M. Beaudette ◽  
Andrew B. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Group Threat ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Competing Hypotheses ◽  
Group Contact ◽  
Zero Sum

How do varying levels of inter-group contact affect voter preferences in connection with ethnically radical political candidates and parties? Two competing hypotheses have emerged in the last 60 years: the first, known as the group threat hypothesis, argues that voters from an ethnic or religious group in more ethnically or racially heterogeneous districts will exhibit stronger preferences for ethnically radical political candidates. The contact hypothesis argues that groups living in mixed localities are actually less likely to support ethnic radicals. Both perspectives have found empirical support, but no previous study has offered a theoretical explanation for two seemingly contradictory conclusions. We specify just such a theory, arguing that the effect of district level integration is conditioned by the direction of a group’s share of the national population. We test this theory quantitatively using electoral data from Northern Ireland between 1983 and 2010.

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.

Public Voting and Prosocial Behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca B. Morton ◽  
Kai Ou
Keyword(s):  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Voter Preferences

AbstractOne argument against secret ballots is that such procedures lead to more selfish voting behavior and that public voting can increase prosocial voting and the likelihood of prosocial outcomes when voters are not subject to intimidation and coercion from outside interests. We investigate this supposition as well as voter preferences over observability in voting in this context. We find that voters are significantly more likely to choose unselfishly when voting is public. These differences in behavior advantage prosocial choices in elections (by 27%) when voting is public. Moreover, voters appear to recognize these differences and a substantial minority of voters whose selfish preference is not the prosocial choice willingly choose public voting even though the likely outcome will be costly to themselves.

Local Government Budgets Stressed by Population Decline? – An Analysis of Residual Costs for the Local Communities of Styria in Austria

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Lais ◽  
Marianne Penker
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Federalism ◽  
Public Expenditure ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Natural Monopoly ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cost Curves

This article looks into the effects of population decline on local public expenditure. It starts with a theoretical explanation of so-called residual costs, i.e. cost curves of shrinking communities lying above those of growing. Data at the community level of the state Styria (Austria) on expenditure categories which have natural monopoly characteristics from 1997-2007 provides empirical support that expenditure per capita grew significantly stronger in shrinking communities than in growing communities. These results provide evidence that at least some of the public expenditures cannot be adjusted to the population decline in the medium term. Keywords: residual costs • local public expenditure • population decline • infrastructure • Austria • fiscal federalism

Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement Of Political Candidates

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1585-1596
Author(s):  
Nam-Hyun Um
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Celebrity Endorsement ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
American University ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
Third Person Effect ◽  
High Level

I examined the effects of celebrity endorsement of political candidates, drawing on third-person effect theory, social identification theory, and political efficacy theory. Participants were 283 students at an American university who took part in a web-based survey that explored attitudes using actual presidential candidates and real celebrities. Study findings suggest that people view such endorsements as having no impact on their own voting behavior yet influencing that of others by encouraging them to vote for the endorsed candidate. In addition, people positively evaluate the endorsed political candidate when they hold a high level of identification with the celebrity endorser and are likely to vote for the candidate. Lastly, whereas political efficacy does influence people's intention to vote, it does not appear to influence their evaluation of the candidate. Limitations of the study and future research are discussed.

Minority Governments in Parliamentary Democracies

1984 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAARE STROM
Keyword(s):  
Coalition Formation ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Rational Solutions ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
Parliamentary Democracies ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
Minority Government ◽  
Competing Hypotheses

Minority cabinets account for about 35% of all governments in 15 parliamentary democracies since 1945. Conventional explanations associate minority government formation with political crises, instability, polarization, factionalization, and failures of interparty bargaining. Such explanations are tested and found lacking in empirical support. Instead, minority governments are explained as rational solutions under specified conditions. Minority cabinets form when even oppositional parties can influence parliamentary legislation, and when government participation is likely to be a liability in future elections. This rationalist explanation receives substantial empirical support in tests against competing hypotheses. The results suggest important modifications to theories of government and coalition formation.

scholarly journals Reconciliation in Northern Ireland: the value of inter-group contact

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Hewstone ◽  
Joanne Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
The Other ◽  
Extensive Survey ◽  
Group Contact ◽  
Peace And Reconciliation

Northern Ireland is still riven by segregation, caught between peace and reconciliation. Extensive survey research shows that inter-group contact has a key role to play in achieving reconciliation, whether through generic contact, cross-group friends (most effective) or indirect. Segregation is most profound in education. The new Shared Education Programme (SEP), which provides children with the opportunity to study with and meet pupils from the other community, has demonstrated benefits. The Northern Ireland Assembly's support for SEP is based on sound psychological principles and robust research evidence.

Electoral Vulnerability, Party Affiliation, and Dyadic Constituency Responsiveness in U.S. Legislatures

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-491
Author(s):  
Nathalie Giger ◽  
Heike Klüver ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
Republican Party ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Voting Decisions

It is often argued that electoral vulnerability is critical to constituency responsiveness. We investigate this possibility using different measures of vulnerability, but argue that in the United States the Republican Party may be less responsive than the Democratic Party due to its core constituency and view of representation. We test our hypotheses relying on an innovative research design that exploits referenda in U.S. states to compare legislator voting behavior with voter preferences on exactly the same policy proposal, allowing us to overcome the measurement problems of much previous research. Based on a newly compiled data set of more than 3,000 voting decisions for 818 legislators on 27 referenda, we find high levels of congruence, but that congruence with the median voter is higher for legislators who are running for reelection. We also find that Democrats are more responsive after a close election but that Republicans are not sensitive to electoral margins.

Ideology and the US Congressional Vote

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Shor ◽  
Jon C. Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Congressional Voting ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Spatial Estimates ◽  
Voter Decision Making

A large class of theoretical models posits that voters choose candidates on the basis of issue congruence, but convincing empirical tests of this key claim remain elusive. The most persistent difficulty is obtaining comparable spatial estimates for winning and losing candidates, as well as voters. We address these issues using candidate surveys to characterize the electoral platforms for winners and losers, and large issue batteries in 2008 and 2010 to estimate voter preferences. Questions that were answered by both candidates and citizens allow us to jointly scale these estimates. We find robust evidence that vote choice in congressional elections is both strongly associated with spatial proximity and that individual-level and contextual variables commonly associated with congressional voting behavior condition the magnitude of its importance. Our results have important implications for theories of voter decision-making and electoral institutions.

EXPLAINING ELECTIONS IN SINGAPORE: DOMINANT PARTY RESILIENCE AND VALENCE POLITICS

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Oliver ◽  
Kai Ostwald
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
General Election ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Comparative Advantages ◽  
Dominant Parties ◽  
Main Factor ◽  
Valence Politics

AbstractThe People's Action Party (PAP) of Singapore is one of the world's longest ruling dominant parties, having won every general election since the country's independence in 1965. Why do Singaporeans consistently vote for the PAP, contrary to the expectations of democratization theories? We argue that valence considerations—specifically, perceptions of party credibility—are the main factor in the voting behavior of Singapore's electorate, and are critical to explaining the PAP's resilience. Furthermore, we argue that the primacy of valence politics arose in part by design, as the PAP has used its control of Singapore's high-capacity state to reshape society and thereby reshape voter preferences towards its comparative advantages. We use a multi-methods approach to substantiate this argument, including a comprehensive quantitative analysis of recent elections. Ultimately, our findings suggest that a focus on valence politics can increase the resilience of dominant parties, but that such a strategy also faces natural limits.

Do I Fit In? Perceptions of Organizational Fit as a Resource in the Workplace Stress Process

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Mackey ◽  
Pamela L. Perrewé ◽  
Charn P. McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Job Strain ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Workplace Stress ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stress Process ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Work Intensity ◽  
Organizational Fit

A large number of research studies in the stress literature over the previous 20 years have examined how organizational demands influence experienced stress; however, little research has examined how perceptions of organizational fit influence experienced stress and the stress process. In the present study, we use the conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine how perceptions of hindrance stressors, challenge stressors, and organizational fit (i.e., a resource) affect employees’ intrapersonal (i.e., job satisfaction and work intensity) and interpersonal (i.e., interpersonal workplace deviance and work-to-family conflict) outcomes through job strain (i.e., job tension) and motivational (i.e., vigor) cognitive stress processes. Results from three samples of data ( nSample 1 = 268, nSample 2 = 259, nSample 3 = 168) largely supported the hypothesized model and suggested that perceptions of organizational fit can be a resource associated with favorable effects on employees’ stress processes. Thus, we contribute to the stress and fit literatures by proposing and demonstrating empirical support for a COR theoretical explanation of why perceptions of organizational fit are a resource for employees. The results are important because they help provide a broader view of the effects of perceptions of organizational fit on employees’ stress processes than offered by prior research and suggest that organizational leaders have the opportunity to help employees manage workplace stress by fostering perceptions of organizational fit. Implications of results for theory and practice, strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are presented.

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