scholarly journals Causal Interaction and Effect Modification: Same Model, Different Concepts

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Keele ◽  
Randolph T. Stevenson

Social scientists use the concept of interactions to study effect dependency. Such analyses can be conducted using standard regression models. However, an interaction analysis may represent either a causal interaction or effect modification. Under causal interaction, the analyst is interested in whether two treatments have differing effects when both are administered. Under effect modification, the analysts investigates whether the effect of a single treatment varies across levels of a baseline covariate. Importantly, the identification assumptions for these two types of analysis are very different. In this paper, we clarify the difference between these two types of interaction analysis. We demonstrate that this distinction is mostly ignored in the political science literature. We conclude with a review of several applications.

Author(s):  
Luke Keele ◽  
Randolph T. Stevenson

Abstract Social scientists use the concept of interactions to study effect dependency. In the causal inference literature, interaction terms may be used in two distinct type of analysis. The first type of analysis focuses on causal interactions, where the analyst is interested in whether two treatments have differing effects when both are administered. The second type of analysis focuses on effect modification, where the analyst investigates whether the effect of a single treatment varies across levels of a baseline covariate. While both forms of interaction analysis are typically conducted using the same type of statistical model, the identification assumptions for these two types of analysis are very different. In this paper, we clarify the difference between these two types of interaction analysis. We demonstrate that this distinction is mostly ignored in the political science literature. We conclude with a review of several applications where we show that the form of the interaction is critical to proper interpretation of empirical results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Dennison

In this article, I offer a review of the uses and findings regarding public issue salience in the political science literature, with a focus on electoral behaviour. I argue that in spite of the increased use of issue salience in recent years, with impressive explanatory results, the concept of issue salience remains underspecified and, at times, contradictory and that its antecedents remain relatively unknown. This is likely to have led to serious shortcomings when attempting to explain recent changes to party systems and electoral results in advanced democracies.


2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oded Shenkar ◽  
Ilgaz Arikan

This paper broadens the scope and depth of business alliance research by way of interdisciplinary enrichment. The paper draws on the political science literature on nation-state alliances to generate insights into the establishment, operations and performance of inter-firm alliances. Shared theory bases of game theory and transaction cost economics, as well as theories, variables and research findings indigenous to political science are posited as a platform from which propositions regarding inter-firm alliances are derived.


Philosophy ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 38 (144) ◽  
pp. 117-135
Author(s):  
P. H. Partridge

In recent years, political scientists have talked a great deal about the proper definition of their subject, and of how the ‘field’ of the political scientist is best distinguished from that of other social scientists. One proposal that is frequently made is that political science might quite properly be defined as the study of power, its forms, its sources, its distribution, its modes of exercise, its effects. The general justification for this proposal is, of course, that political activity itself appears to be connected very intimately with power: it is often said that political activity is a struggle for power; that constitutions and other political institutions are methods of defining and regularising the distribution and the exercise of power, and so on. Since there seems to be some sense in which one can say that, within the wider area of social life, the political field is that which has some special connection with power, it may seem plausible then to suggest that the study of politics focusses upon the study of power.


1982 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 439-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen A. Frankovic

The relationship between sex and political behavior has been discussed only in passing in the political science literature, if it is discussed at all. There has been little evidence from the 1940s to the 1970s that gender plays a role in determining issue positions, candidate evaluations, or candidate preference, as a quick perusal of some well-read political science works would confirm.Berelson, Lazarsfeld and McPhee inVoting, the seminal work on opinion formation in a presidential campaign, discovered no relationship between vote preference and sex. The researchers did discover a difference in reported interest in the 1948 campaign between men and women early in the campaign, but even that difference faded as the election drew near.Campbell, Converse, Miller and Stokes inThe American Votermake no mention of either the existence or non-existence of sex difference in policy or candidate preference. They focus instead on differences in turnout, involvement and efficacy. Although they suggest that at one time opinions about Prohibition may have separated men from women, the authors conclude, “In the current era, there is no reason to believe that womenas womenare differentially attracted to one of the political parties.”Pomper inVoters' Choicedoes find a relationship between sex and one issue dimension–the dimension of war and peace. But Pomper, Campbell and Berelson agree that any sex differences cannot, by definition, be long-lasting. Berelson cites the lack of differentiation in the way policies affect the sexes, the lack of differences in intergenerational transmission, and the lack of segregation between the sexes.


Author(s):  
I.V. Kozych

In the article the author studies the functioning of criminal policy as a component of the political system of society. It is determined that the political system of any society is characterized by the presence of certain mechanisms that guarantee its stability and viability. An important element of this mechanism is the system of socio­political principles and norms, as well as traditions, morals, ethics of political life. The political system also includes a communication mechanism that ensures the direct and feedback of social groups and members of society with political power. With their help, social contradictions and conflicts are solved, efforts of various social groups, organizations and movements are coordinated, social relations are harmonized, consensus is reached on values, goals and directions of social development. The author supports the positions in the philosophical and political science literature that the political system is a real socio-political phenomenon that performs certain functions in society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 204-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser

Pundits and academics alike are increasingly interested in populism. This is a welcome development, since not long ago research on populism was relegated to the margins of the social sciences. Among those who are starting to undertake comparative research on populism, there is, however, a tendency to overlook the cumulative scholarship that has been developed on the topic (e.g., Rovira Kaltwasser et al. 2017). In this short piece I offer an overview of the ideational approach to populism, which is becoming increasingly influential in the political science literature and can also be useful for those interested in studying the economic consequences of populism.


Author(s):  
Dana El Kurd

What is the effect of international involvement on authoritarianism? Moreover, what is the effect of this involvement on societal dynamics, in the long-term? This chapter presents a theory of international involvement and its societal effects, arguing that such involvement not only affects behavior or preferences on the margins, but also restructures regime dynamics and societal interactions in a way that has yet to be examined fully in the political science literature. There is evidence to suggest that such involvement leads to polarization within society, but it is also important to understand the effect of that polarization on political behavior in the long-term. The theory presented argues international involvement has three specific effects: firstly, creating a principle-agent problem between regime and society, thus disrupting state–society relations, secondly, increasing polarization within society, and thirdly, inhibiting political engagement.


Legal Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-278
Author(s):  
Michael Harker ◽  
John Street ◽  
Samuel Cross

In this paper, we consider the Leveson inquiry's use of a narrative device – the policy cycle – to justify the need for a break with the past. We challenge that narrative, which runs through much of the literature, and posit a more nuanced and complex account of the politics and history of press inquiries, drawing upon the political science literature. We then reflect upon the implications of our findings for the future of press regulation.


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