Assessing Performance

2019 ◽  
pp. 290-320
Author(s):  
Keith Banting ◽  
Jack Nagel ◽  
Chelsea Schafer ◽  
Daniel Westlake
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Border States ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
Political Units ◽  
The U.S

This chapter asks whether standard theories of differences between Canada and the United States (U.S.) can explain disparities in critical social and political outcomes in the two countries. On six measures of system performance (homicides, infant mortality, poverty, economic inequality, voter turnout, and women legislators) Canada consistently delivers far better outcomes than the U.S., but examination of subnational variation reveals a more complex pattern. Most indicators differ more among U.S. states than among Canadian provinces. Within the U.S., outcomes in the northern tier of states usually resemble those in neighboring Canada more closely than they do the rest of the U.S., especially the South, which performs worst by every measure. Standard institutional and cultural theories of differences between the countries cannot explain regional variation within the U.S. nor the similarity of Northern Border states to Canada. Although obvious differences between Canadian and U.S. political institutions help account for greater homogeneity among provinces, explaining the overall pattern may require invoking such causes as climate, ethnic diversity, size of political units, and subnational political cultures.

scholarly journals Quebec's Comprehensive Auto No-Fault Scheme and the Failure of Any of the United States to Follow

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 303-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Sugarman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
State Government ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Auto Insurance ◽  
Tort System ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
The U.S

Although Quebec's no-fault auto insurance scheme has served for 20 years as an exemplary model to follow, so far not one of the United States has adopted anything even close to it. This article examines the reasons for that failure, both in California and throughout the country. Emphasis is given to several factors that stand in the way of U.S. reform and that may distinguish states in the U.S. from Canadian provinces generally and Quebec in particular: 1. State politics — the power of the lawyers who represent victims, the position of the insurers, and the structure of state government. 2. Public perceptions — negative attitudes towards government, the insurance industry, and the prospects of saving money on auto insurance premiums. 3. Traditions—the ideological strength of individualism and ideological weakness of collective responsibility. 4. Tradeoffs — doing away with the tort system means giving up more in the U.S. than elsewhere. 5. Policy concerns — fears about safety, costs, and the « slippery slope ». Finally, the possibility that one or more U.S. states might in the future evolve towards the Quebec solution is explored.

Field Experiments on Political Behavior

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter John
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Causal Relationships ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

Field experiments allow researchers on political behavior to test causal relationships between mobilization and a range of outcomes, in particular, voter turnout. These studies have rapidly increased in number since 2000, many assessing the impact of nonpartisan Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) campaigns. A more recent wave of experiments assesses ways of persuading voters to change their choice of party or alter their social and political attitudes. Many studies reveal positive impacts for these interventions, especially for GOTV. However, there are far fewer trials carried out outside the United States, which means it is hard to confirm external validity beyond the U.S. context, even though many comparative experiments reproduce U.S. findings. Current studies, both in the United States and elsewhere, are growing in methodological sophistication and are leveraging new ways of measuring political behavior and attitudes.

Electoral and Party Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-78
Author(s):  
André Blais ◽  
Shaun Bowler ◽  
Bernard Grofman
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Party System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
The U.S

Electoral laws are often regarded as the key factors structuring party competition. Yet, despite having very similar electoral systems, reflecting a shared colonial legacy, the United States (U.S.) and Canada have had very different party systems. For the past 100 years, the U.S. is perhaps the most consistently two-party system among the world’s major democracies, but during this same period Canada has experienced considerable variation in the number of parties represented in Parliament at the national level. This chapter addresses both the causes and consequences of this puzzling divergence in party systems in the two countries. We also compare a number of other features of the two nation’s electoral institutions, including campaign finance rules, rules for constituency boundary drawing, bicameralism, and the mechanism for the selection of the executive, with particular attention to the U.S. Electoral College and its alleged link with two-partyism. We also examine the policy consequences of the divergence in party systems and look at the way in which party competition in the two countries may affect voter turnout.

The United States of America

2020 ◽  
pp. 196-210
Author(s):  
Matthew Kroenig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
International Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Leadership ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
To Come ◽  
The U.S

This chapter examines the future of American global leadership through the lens of its domestic political institutions. It finds that the United States faces growing troubles at home. At the same time, its vibrant economy, strong alliances relationships, and its unmatched military, all reflections of the U.S. domestic political system, will continue to provide a significant source of strategic advantage for the United States over its autocratic competitors in the years to come. The international security environment is becoming more competitive, and the United States does not exercise the unchallenged primacy it enjoyed in the 1990s. We have returned to an era of great power rivalry. But, there is no doubt that the United States remains the world’s leading power.

The Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-169
Author(s):  
Matthew Kroenig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
The U.S

This chapter analyzes the Russian Federation through the lens of its domestic political system. Russia may pose the greatest near-term national security threat to the United States and its allies, but it has a key vulnerability: its domestic political institutions. Its autocratic system is undermining its international effectiveness. Its economy is smaller than Italy’s. It lacks effective alliances. And its military is overly focused on domestic threats and is ill-equipped for the strategic-technological competitions of the 21st century. It is dangerous and it can disrupt the U.S.-led order. But it will not be in a position to be a true peer competitor to the United States any time soon. So long as it continues to be ruled by President Vladimir Putin, or another similar dictator, Russia will not be able to mount a serious challenge to U.S. global leadership.

We Are the World: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Use of Foreign Sources of Law

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 891-913
Author(s):  
Ryan C. Black ◽  
Ryan J. Owens ◽  
Jennifer L. Brookhart
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Judicial Politics ◽  
United States Supreme Court ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Foreign Law ◽  
The World ◽  
The U.S

The United States Supreme Court recently employed foreign legal sources to interpret U.S. law, provoking widespread political and legal controversy. Scholars have yet to examine systematically the conditions under which justices cite foreign law, however. Applying theoretical approaches from international relations and judicial politics scholarship, we search every Supreme Court opinion between 1953 and 2009 for references to foreign law. Justices strategically reference foreign law to prop up their most controversial opinions. They also borrow law from countries whose domestic political institutions are viewed as legitimate; and, surprisingly, conservatives are as likely as liberals to cite foreign law. These findings add important information to the discussion over citing foreign law, and highlight how geopolitical context influences domestic legal policy.

They Lynched Mexican-Americans Too: A Question of Anglo Colorism

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Domestic Terrorism ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Border States ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Historical Archives ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

The act of lynching in the United States was in fact a form of domestic terrorism perpetrated against darker-skinned Americans. Historians have been pressed to acknowledge the lynching of African-Americans particularly in the Bible-belt South in such states as Mississippi and Alabama. The history of Mexican-Americans lynched by Anglo mobs has been for the most part, ignored by Western historians. Said ignored transgressions occurred frequently in border-states including Texas. Approximately 40 years before the lynching of 14-year-old African-American Emmett Till was the lynching of 14-year-old Mexican-American Antonio Gómez. Both were boys accused of Anglo disrespect. Buried in historical archives, the lynching of Gómez was a Mexican-American manifestation of Anglo colorism. Once informed, social scientists and the U.S. society at-large must then readily admit they lynched Mexican-Americans too!

scholarly journals El español y las políticas lingüísticas en Estados Unidos: el caso de los Estados fronterizos con México

2013 ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Lilián Paola Torrente Paternina
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Border States ◽  
Historical Origin ◽  
The U.S

Se realizó una consulta bibliográfica sobre la situación actual de las políticas educativas y lingüísticas relacionadas con la enseñanza bilingüe en los estados fronterizos de Estados Unidos con México. Se describe la inexistente, pero implícita política lingüística federal en los Estados Unidos de América, sus políticas ad hoc sobre educación bilingüe y, en especial, la situación actual del español en los estados fronterizos con México y sus legislaciones al respecto, ya que el crecientesentimiento anti-inmigrante existente en estos estados se ve reflejado en las políticas de restricción del uso del español y otros idiomas diferentes del inglés, lo cual constituye una profunda contradicción si se tiene en cuenta el origen histórico de esta región.Palabras clave: español, educación bilingüe, política lingüística, monolingüismo, hispanos. AbstractThe present study is a bibliographic review of the current situation of educational and linguistic policies related to bilingual education in the border states between the U.S. and Mexico. It describes the nonexistent but implicit federal language policies in the United States of America as well as its ad hoc policies on bilingual education, especially regarding the current situation of Spanish and its legislation in the border states with Mexico. The growing anti-immigrant feeling that exists in these states is reflected in the policies restricting the use of Spanish and other languages different from English. This situation establishes a deep contradiction taking into account the historical origin of this region.Key words: Spanish, bilingual education, language policy, monolingualism, Hispanic citizens.

Institutional Constraints in the Initial Deployment of Cellular Telephone Service on Three Continents

2000 ◽  
pp. 198-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel West
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Telephone Service ◽  
Cellular Telephone ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

The influence of institutional pressures on standards and standardization are readily apparent in their most direct form. For example, in the mid-1990s, both the European Union and the United States issued new wireless communications licenses in the 1.8-2.0 GHz band: the EU countries mandated use of their decade-old communications standard, while the U.S. authorized three competing standards not yet widely used in the U.S. (Mehrotra, 1994). However, institutional pressures can also shape standardization efforts in a less direct fashion. For example, in a regulated industry such as telecommunications, existing economic and political institutions constrain the diffusion of a new technology. Such diffusion mediates the impact of product compatibility standards upon society. If producers adopt standards for their goods and services, and if users adopt the products that incorporate such standards, only then such standards can have an economic or social effect upon society at large. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of institutional pressures on diffusion of the innovation that incorporates a standard if we wish to explain the eventual success or failure of such a standard. Here a particular standards-based innovation, analog cellular telephone service, provides an opportunity to contrast the effects of institutions on diffusion and thus standardization. Over a four year period, three independent design centers deployed mutually incompatible standards in three continents. While the technical solutions were similar, differences in institutional context between the regions influenced both the nature of the respective standards and their corresponding diffusion. In particular, the systems were deployed in a period of shifting telecommunications competition policies and priorities for radio frequency allocation. Prior research has examined the causal links between standards and institutions, both the institutional context of standards development (e.g., Besen, 1990) and also how established standards themselves function as institutions (Kindleberger, 1983). But rarely do we have the opportunity to examine the diffusion of the same innovation in differing institutional contexts. This paper will focus on the most complex institutional context for the deployment of cellular telephone service, the United States, which despite having invented cellular technology, was the third region to deploy cellular service due to regulatory delays. The experience of Japan and Northern Europe are offered as contrasts to highlight the importance of the institutional context in the adoption of both standards and standardized products.

Between Families and Frankenstein

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Heidt-Forsythe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Original Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Egg Donation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Policy Framing ◽  
The U.S

In this book, I undertake the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of the politics of the “wild west” of egg donation in the United States. If egg donation is so publicly recognizable and evokes such social interest, why does the U.S. system fail to regulate it? This book challenges conventional thinking around egg donation politics, exploring answers to how egg donation is defined, debated, and regulated in the United States, as well as exploring the logic of why the U.S. system of politics is organized the way it is around egg donation. Building upon theories of normative femininity in reproduction and scientific research, this book examines the relationships between subnational politics and policy in contemporary egg donation. I use three interdisciplinary areas of inquiry—policy framing, body politics and morality politics, and representation by gender and political party to answer long-standing questions about egg donation and politics in the fields of women’s and gender studies, political science and policy studies, and bioethics. Employing case studies, qualitative narrative analysis, and quantitative public-policy analyses of an original data set of over eight hundred state-level public policies around egg donation, this book clarifies the ways that gender, race, and class, as well as political institutions and actors, create systems of egg donation politics and regulation, particularly at the subnational level.

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