Age for Leisure? Political Mediation and the Impact of the Pension Movement on U.S. Old-Age Policy

2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Amenta ◽  
Neal Caren ◽  
Sheera Joy Olasky
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
State Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Old Age Assistance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Mediation

This article elaborates a political mediation theory of the impact of social movements on states and policy, positing that the influence of mobilization and specific strategies of collective action depends on specified political contexts and the type of influence sought. Examining the influence of the U.S. old-age pension movement, which involved millions of people, this article appraises the mediation model using state-level data from the 1930s and 1940s on Old Age Assistance—the main support for the aged at the time-and a Senate vote for generous senior citizens' pensions in 1939. Our models control for other potential influences, notably public opinion, which is often ignored in empirical studies and sometimes claimed to be responsible for causal influence mistakenly attributed to challengers. We employ pooled cross-sectional and time series analyses and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (FSQCA), which is especially suited to appraising the combinational expectations of the political mediation model. Both sets of analyses show that the pension movement was directly influential on the outcomes and provide support for the political mediation arguments.

A Hero for the Aged? The Townsend Movement, the Political Mediation Model, and U.S. Old-Age Policy, 1934-1950

1992 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Amenta ◽  
Bruce G. Carruthers ◽  
Yvonne Zylan
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Political Mediation

Save Our Senior Noncitizens: Extending Old Age Assistance to Immigrants in the United States, 1935–71

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Cybelle Fox
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Old Age ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Secure Access ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Old Age Assistance ◽  
Social Security Act

Abstract When do states grant social rights to noncitizens? I explore this question by examining the extension of Old Age Assistance (OAA) to noncitizens after the passage of the 1935 Social Security Act. While the act contained no alienage-based restrictions, states were permitted to bar noncitizens from means-tested programs. In 1939, 31 states had alienage restrictions for OAA. By 1971, when the Supreme Court declared state-level alienage restrictions unconstitutional, only eight states still did. States with more Mexicans and Asians were slower to repeal restriction, however. Using in-depth case studies of New York, California, and Texas, I demonstrate the importance of federal and state institutional arrangements and immigrant political power for the extension of social rights to noncitizens. I also show that to secure access to OAA, immigrant advocates adapted their strategies to match the institutional and political context.

The Strategies and Contexts of Social Protest: Political Mediation and the Impact of the Townsend Movement in California

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Amenta ◽  
Drew Halfmann ◽  
Michael Young
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Protest ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Old Age Pensions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Mediation

We contend that the collective action of state-oriented challengers is politically mediated, and that the impact of collective action will differ according to political contexts. More specifically, we argue that mobilization and limited protest will yield collective benefits in specified favorable political circumstances; more assertive action is required in specified less favorable circumstances. In addition to specifying these arguments, we go some distance toward appraising them, by examining the Townsend Movement, an American old-age pension challenger of the 1930s and 1940s, and the politics of old-age pensions in California. Historical, "similar systems," and regression analyses indicate that the movement had an impact on California old-age policy that varied according to the expectations of our political mediation arguments.

Impact of the Presence of Embassies on Trade: Evidence from Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Yusuf Kenan Bagir
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Volume Effect ◽  
Foreign Missions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exporting Firms ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper analyzes the impact of the presence of foreign missions on trade using Turkey's unique expansion in its foreign embassy network (39 new embassies in 8 years) as the source of variation in a panel data setting. A majority of the existing empirical studies use cross-sectional bilateral trade data due to lack of variation over time (Rose, 2007; Moons and Bergeijk, 2013). Employing a panel data analysis, this paper is able to address the endogeneity issues that are associated with a standard cross-sectional analysis. The dependent variable in the paper is the trade between Turkey and 190 countries for 2006 to 2016. The results indicate that presence of an embassy increases export value by 30% and this increase comes mainly from the volume effect. Categorizing goods by the Rauch (1999) classification shows that the increase in differentiated goods exports is the main driver of the export surge. The number of exporting firms increases by about 8%. There is no statistically significant impact on the exports of homogeneous goods. Replication of the analysis for imports suggests no impact on imports.

The Importance of the Political and the Social in Explaining Mortality Differentials among the Countries of the OECD, 1950–1998

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Navarro ◽  
Carme Borrell ◽  
Joan Benach ◽  
Carles Muntaner ◽  
Agueda Quiroga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Variables

This article analyzes (within the conceptual frame defined in the previous article) the impact of political variables such as time of government by political parties (social democratic, Christian democratic or conservative, liberal, and ex-dictatorial that have governed the OECD countries during the 1950–1998 period) and their electoral support on (1) redistributional policies in the labor market and in the welfare state; (2) the income inequalities measured by Theil and Gini indexes; and (3) health indicators, such as infant mortality and life expectancy. This analysis is carried out statistically by a bivariate and a multivariate analysis (a pooled cross-sectional study). Both analyses show that political variables play an important role in defining how public and social policies determine the levels of inequalities and affect the level of infant mortality. In general, political parties more committed to redistributional policies, such as social democratic parties, are the most successful in reducing inequalities and improving infant mortality. Less evidence exists, however, on effects on life expectancy. The article also quantifies statistically the relationship between the political and the policy variables and between these variables and the dependent variables—that is, the health indicators.

scholarly journals The Effect of Job–Education Vertical Mismatch on Wages Among Recent PhD Graduates: Evidence From an Instrumental Variable Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta ◽  
Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera ◽  
Francesco Pastore
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Micro Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Instrumental Variable Analysis ◽  
Wage Effect ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Variable Analysis

Abstract Existing studies suggest that recent PhD graduates with a job vertically mismatched with their education tend to earn lower wages than their matched counterparts. However, by being based on cross-sectional ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates, these studies raise endogeneity concerns and can only be considered evidence of a correlation between vertical mismatch and wages. This paper improves this literature by applying a heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable estimation approach to analyzing Italian PhD holders’ cross-sectional micro-data. Our analysis suggests that previous empirical studies have provided slightly upward estimates of the impact of vertical mismatch on wages. Nevertheless, our results show that the effect of overeducation on wages is sizeable. However, no wage effect is found for overskilling. The heterogeneity of these findings by field of study and gender are also inspected.

“IT HAPPENED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”: LEGISLATIVE BUFFERING AS AN INFORMAL MECHANISM OF POLITICAL MEDIATION*

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Basseches
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Complete Failure ◽  
Movement Organizations ◽  
Political Mediation

The political mediation model explains movement policy outcomes ranging from complete failure to total success. However, the qualitative mechanisms through which political mediation occurs empirically remain understudied, especially as they relate to the content-specifying stages of the legislative process. Furthermore, while we know that political mediation is context dependent, key elements of what political context entails remain underspecified. This article addresses these gaps by tracing the influence of a coalition of social movement organizations (SMOs) seeking to simultaneously shape the content of two major climate bills in a progressive U.S. state where the climate movement enjoys a relatively favorable political context overall. Comparing the divergent trajectories and outcomes of the two bills illuminates the process of legislative buffering, which is conceptualized as an informal mechanism of political mediation. The comparative analysis also reveals situational elements of political context that can present additional hurdles movements must overcome to maximize their success.

scholarly journals Individual- and state-level factors associated with functional limitation prevalence among Colombian elderly: a multilevel analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Marcela Ballesteros ◽  
José Moreno-Montoya
Keyword(s):  
Functional Limitation ◽  
State Level ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Abstract: This study aimed to identify the main regional factors associated with variations in the prevalence of functional limitation on the older adult in Colombia adjusted by individual characteristics. This multilevel study used cross-sectional data from 23,694 adults over 60 years of age in the SABE, Colombia nationwide survey. State-level factors (poverty, development, inequity, violence, health coverage, and access to improved water sources), as well as individual health related, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, were analyzed. The overall prevalence of functional impairment for the basic activities of daily living (ADL) was 22%. The presence of comorbidities, low educational level, physical inactivity, no participation in social groups, mistreatment and being over 75 years old were associated with functional limitation. At the group level, the analysis showed significant differences in the functional limitation prevalence across states, particularly regarding the socioeconomic status measured according to the Human Development Index (median OR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.13-1.30; p = 0.011). This study provides evidence on the impact of socioeconomic variation across states on FL prevalence in the Colombian elderly once adjusted for individual characteristics. The findings of this study, through a multilevel approach methodology, provide information to effectively address the conditions that affect the functionality in this population through the identification and prioritization of public health care in groups with economic and health vulnerability.

Vertical Grants and Local Public Efficiency: The Inference-disturbing Effect of Fiscal Equalization

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo Bischoff ◽  
Peter Bönisch ◽  
Peter Haug ◽  
Annette Illy
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
German State ◽  
Service Production ◽  
Public Sector Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

The existing empirical literature on the impact of vertical grants on local public-sector efficiency yields mixed results. Given the fact that vertical financial equalization systems often reduce differences in fiscal capacity, we argue that empirical studies based on cross-sectional data may yield a positive relationship between grants and efficiency of public service production even when the underlying causal effect is not. We provide a simple illustrative theoretical model to show the logic of our argument and illustrate its relevance by an empirical case study for the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. We show that our main argument of an inference-disturbing effect applies to those existing studies that are more optimistic about the impact of vertical grants. Finally, we argue that it may disturb the inference drawn from studies in a number of other countries where vertical grants—intended or not—concentrate in fiscally weak municipalities.

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