The American State and the Enduring Politics of Race

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond King
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Politics Of Race ◽  
American State

The most important scholarly finding about the American state is how the politics of race and racial inequality have shaped all aspects of the state’s structure and policy outcomes. The American state performs and combines the standard functions of maintaining order, delivering public policy, monopolizing the legitimate use of violence and maintaining revenues, but always with effect on the politics of race. The American state’s embrace of the politics of racial inequality mark it out as a key case in comparative studies for researchers developing and testing arguments about democratic states with complex histories and fragmentary institutional arrangements.

Investigating the President

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas L. Kriner ◽  
Eric Schickler
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Theater ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Presidential Power ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Partisan Polarization ◽  
Approval Rating ◽  
Congressional Investigations ◽  
Over Time

Although congressional investigations have provided some of the most dramatic moments in American political history, they have often been dismissed as mere political theater. But these investigations are far more than grandstanding. This book shows that congressional investigations are a powerful tool for members of Congress to counter presidential aggrandizement. By shining a light on alleged executive wrongdoing, investigations can exert significant pressure on the president and materially affect policy outcomes. This book constructs the most comprehensive overview of congressional investigative oversight to date, analyzing nearly 13,000 days of hearings, spanning more than a century, from 1898 through 2014. The book examines the forces driving investigative power over time and across chambers, and identifies how hearings might influence the president’s strategic calculations through the erosion of the president’s public approval rating, and uncover the pathways through which investigations have shaped public policy. Put simply, by bringing significant political pressure to bear on the president, investigations often afford Congress a blunt, but effective check on presidential power—without the need to worry about veto threats or other hurdles such as Senate filibusters. In an era of intense partisan polarization and institutional dysfunction, the book delves into the dynamics of congressional investigations and how Congress leverages this tool to counterbalance presidential power.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Valls
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Color Blind ◽  
American Society ◽  
Liberal Political Theory

The persistence of racial inequality in the United States raises deep and complex questions of racial justice. Some observers argue that public policy must be “color-blind,” while others argue that policies that take race into account should be defended on grounds of diversity or integration. This chapter begins to sketch an alternative to both of these, one that supports strong efforts to address racial inequality but that focuses on the conditions necessary for the liberty and equality of all. It argues that while race is a social construction, it remains deeply embedded in American society. A conception of racial justice is needed, one that is grounded on the premises provided by liberal political theory.

Layers of Activism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrine M. McConnaughy
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Women's Movement ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Women's Activism ◽  
Civic Organizations ◽  
Interest Organizations ◽  
American State

The women’s movement of the nineteenth century emerged within a context of proliferating civic organizations making demands on the American state. This chapter considers how this era of activism shaped the development of social movements for women’s rights and policy demands, arguing that social identities were influential determinants of the paths that women’s activism took through a web of organizational possibilities. The chapter first discusses how membership, organizational structure, and repertoires of activism were produced by the layers of identities and organizations from which they were built. It then turns to how coalitional strategies emerged, including the importance of bridge actors across layers of interest organizations. Finally, it highlights how the varied policy outcomes of women’s activism across both time and states within the layered era have enabled conditional explanations of activism’s effectiveness, including new understandings of when gender worked as a constraint and when it facilitated success.

Racial Inequality in Academia: Systemic Origins, Modern Challenges, and Policy Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Cydney H. Dupree ◽  
C. Malik Boykin
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Ideal World ◽  
Future Leaders

In an ideal world, academia serves society; it provides quality education to future leaders and informs public policy—and it does so by including a diverse array of scholars. However, research and recent protest movements show that academia is subject to race-based inequities that hamper the recruitment and retention of scholars of color, reducing scientific impact. This article provides critical systemic context for racism in academia before reviewing research on psychological, interpersonal, and structural challenges to reducing racial inequality. Policy challenges include (a) the cultivation of harmful stereotypes, (b) the education of racially ignorant future leaders, and (c) the dedication of resources to science that informs only a few, rather than many. Finally, recommendations specify critical features of hiring, retention, transparency, and incentives that can diversify academia, create a more welcoming environment to scholars of color, and maximize the potential for innovative and impactful science.

Towards a General Model of Public Policy Outcomes

1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis G. Castles ◽  
Vance Merrill
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
General Model ◽  
Policy Outcomes

The Relative Importance of Socioeconomic and Political Variables for Public Policy

1977 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 559-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Lewis-Beck
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Simple Correlation ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Political Variables

Since Dawson and Robinson, a dominant issue in the quantitative study of public policy has been the relative importance of socioeconomic and political variables for determining policy outcomes. It is argued here that past efforts to resolve this issue have been unsatisfactory, largely because they relied on inadequate statistical techniques, i.e., simple correlation, partial correlation, or multiple regression. Coefficients from these techniques are irrelevant for all but the most peculiar models of public policy. In general, if the researcher wishes to assess the relative importance of independent variables, it will be necessary to resort to path analysis of a formally constructed causal model. The comparison of “effects coefficients,” derived from path analysis, is offered as the preferred means of evaluating independent variables, superior to comparisons of coefficients from simple correlation, partial correlation, or multiple regression. When the effects coefficients are actually calculated for a popular model of welfare policy, socioeconomic variables appear much more important than political variables, contrary to interpretations coming from the more traditional statistical techniques.

scholarly journals CONFLICTS AND CONTRADICTIONS IN POLICY APPROACHES IN NIGERIA: A DIALECTICAL MANIFESTATION OF POVERTY OF LEADERSHIP

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 04-08
Author(s):  
James Nde Jacob ◽  
Ochoga Anita Onmoba
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Elite Theory ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Bad Leadership

The paper discusses the conflicts and contradictions in policy approaches in Nigeria since 1960 with a view to ascertaining the role of bad leadership in policy outcomes. It adopts essentially the secondary methodology in data gathering through textbooks, journals and research articles, while the elite theory is chosen to explain the influence of the elite class on policy issues in Nigeria. From the findings, the paper argues that the heterogeneous configuration of Nigeria, colonial legacy, and institutional constraints have remained the major factors affecting smooth policy making and implementation processes in Nigeria due largely to the dearth of national leadership. In addition, the paper undertakes conceptual clarification of terms as used in relation to Public Policy in modern Nigeria; traces the history of Public Policy in the country; draws conclusion and made recommendations.

International trade protectionist policies and in-state preferences: A link

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sawsan Abutabenjeh ◽  
Stephen B. Gordon ◽  
Berhanu Mengistu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The World ◽  
State Preference ◽  
Public Policy Instruments ◽  
The U.S

By implementing various forms of preference policies, countries around the world intervene in their economies for their own political and economic purposes. Likewise, twenty-five states in the U.S. have implemented in-state preference policies (NASPO, 2012) to protect and support their own vendors from out-of-state competition to achieve similar purposes. The purpose of this paper is to show the connection between protectionist public policy instruments noted in the international trade literature and the in-state preference policies within the United States. This paper argues that the reasons and the rationales for adopting these preference policies in international trade and the states' contexts are similar. Given the similarity in policy outcomes, the paper further argues that the international trade literature provides an overarching explanation to help understand what states could expect in applying in-state preference policies.

Providing Rational and Normative Policy Evaluation with Hedonic Estimation in Developing and Emerging Market Economies

2014 ◽  
pp. 53-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Erakovich ◽  
Gerald Poppe ◽  
John F. Shampton ◽  
Kalpana Pai
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Normative Considerations

Market economy and democratic evolution in public policy requires a shift from a comprehensive rational and positivism approach to including normative considerations through a social participatory thesis. The key question of this chapter’s examination is: Do the fundamental ideas of econometric evaluation of land value as a basis for public policy contribute worth for the society as a whole? Policy that exploits market mechanisms cannot be developed in isolation of the larger societal needs that are required to enrich democracy. To do this, the authors provide an econometric model of valuation of land to test and predict policy outcomes to enhance democratic transition. Establishing market value is a tool that supports policy economic development goals and normative outcomes desired through political transparency in the emergence to democratic processes. The authors conclude with recommendations for implementation to support stakeholders in the policymaking process.

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