Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Why is Mexican politics divided between conservative, northern “blue” states and left-learning, southern “yellow” states? While factors such as the regional concentration of wealth and urbanization certainly contribute, I suggest that political discussion plays an important role in reinforcing regional differences. Mexico’s regional cleavage limits the supply of differently-minded conversation partners in a voter’s immediate social environment, thus making it less likely that s/he will hear arguments sympathetic to an opposing side.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper analyzes newspaper coverage of immigration reform in mainstream English-language newspapers prior to, and following passage of immigration reform legislation by the US House of Representatives in December, 2005. The purpose of this project is twofold: 1) To illuminate the media’s participation in the social construction of the policy “problem” and acceptable “solutions” to it; 2) To illuminate how the social construction of the policy problem and solution contributes to the social construction of a particular group of people in America, namely Latino immigrants. The analysis presented here is based upon a qualitative analysis of a large random sample of newspaper articles published in the northeast and southwest United States during August 2005, April 2006, and October 2006. The analysis reveals both consistency and significant changes in the news coverage of immigration reform between April 2005 and October 2006. I discuss two key findings at length. First, changes in coverage between August 2005 and October 2006 portray an expansion in the terms of the debate about immigration reform that has proven significant in the course of the policy’s development. Second, while many articles fail to explain the need for immigration reform, the coverage generally portrays the problem as “illegal immigrants” from south of the US-Mexican border. This portrayal contributes to the social construction of Latinos as the Other. This project therefore enhances our understanding of the social construction of immigration policy and its subjects, and the print media’s contribution to this process.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Challenges in Medicaid implementation present a potential public policy crisis at the intersection of state fiscal policies and health care in a federal system. State budgets have been strained since the national economic downturn in 2001 and remain unstable as state Medicaid expenses continue to rise (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured 2005). The integrity of the Medicaid program is threatened as Medicaid budget shortfalls have occurred in more than half the states, and are anticipated to occur in 40 states in 2006 (National Association of Budget Officers 2004).
Devolution of responsibility from the federal government continues to present basic questions about state capacity to perform the functions devolved (Kincaid 1998). State revenues are an essential element of the Medicaid service delivery equation. However, it is not clear that state revenue streams can provide a sufficiently stable source of funds in the devolution environment (Tannenwald 2002). Lav, McNichol and Zahradnik (2005) argue that states may exist in structural deficit, with a chronic inability to grow along with growth in the economy and the cost of government (2005: 1). This paper tests the influence of state structural deficits along with other state contextual factors that may explain current state Medicaid budget shortfalls. The influence of state structural deficits and other contextual factors on Medicaid implementation has implications for state capacity to implement policy in the American federal system.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Scholars' dire predictions about the negative effects of the runoff rule in Latin America are not borne out in this study. While runoff rules are associated with a larger number of political parties, a larger number of parties is not necessarily problematical; if the number is problematical, a smaller number may be achieved through threshold rules for seats in the legislature. In most Latin American elections, there is probably little to gain or lose from either electoral rule; the impact of these rules on party alliances and on outsiders does not appear to be very significant. However, in certain elections, such as the 2006 Peruvian and Mexican elections, where voters were quite equally divided among three or more candidates and one or more of these candidates was at a political extreme, the runoff rule is advantageous. In the cases, the runoff rule helps to achieve the election of a president who is closer to the political center and more legitimate.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: ABSTRACT

The paper examines Canadians’ views about minority governments, using the 2006 Canadian Election Study. A plurality of Canadian voters thinks that minority governments are a good thing, a substantial change of mind compared to the 60s and 70s. As expected Liberal and Conservative identifiers are more prone to dislike minority governments while NDP and Bloc partisans are more inclined to like them. The better informed are more likely to have an opinion but being more informed does not lead in one particular direction. Liking or disliking minority governments does not seem to have any independent effect on vote choice. Satisfaction with democracy increased slightly more after the election among those who like minority governments. The effect is weak and confined to the most sophisticated fraction of the electorate.