Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: The Varieties of Capitalism (VOC) literature’s difficulties in accounting for the full diversity of national capitalisms and in explaining institutional change result at least in part from its tendency to downplay state action and from its rather static, binary division of capitalism into two overall systems. This paper argues first of all that by taking state action—used as shorthand for government policy forged by the political interactions of public and private actors in given institutional contexts—as a significant factor, national capitalisms can be seen to come in at least three varieties: liberal, coordinated, and state-influenced market economies. But more importantly, by bringing the state back in, we also put the political back into political economy—in terms of policies, political institutional structures, and politics. Secondly, the paper shows that although recent revisions to VOC that account for change by invoking open systems or historical institutionalist incrementalism have gone a long way toward remedying the original problem with regard to stasis, they still fail to explain institutional change fully. It is not enough to turn to rational choice institutionalist explanations focused on the micro-foundations of action, as some do, since this does not get at the dynamics behind changing preferences and innovative actions. For this, I argue, it is necessary to add discursive institutionalist explanations focused on the role of ideas and discourse. Bringing the state back into the substantive account of capitalism actually promotes this methodological approach, since an important part of politics is political communication and deliberation on the choice of policies within given institutional contexts, economic as well as political .

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: With the rise of the Celtic Tiger, which has seen the Republic of Ireland experience an extraordinary level of economic growth over the past 15 years, the energy policy community has been forced to confront the country's exposure to energy insecurity. The

Publication Type: Invited Paper

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper analyzes how successful political parties have been in retaking House seats that they lost in last election and the factors that affect such success. Using data on congressional elections from 1974-2006, we find that House seats taken away are not easily regained. Although forces known to affect competition in congressional elections in general are at play in this subset of races, the relationships are attenuated. Whether or not the seat was taken away in an open seat race does not significantly affect odds of taking it back. And a consistently strong determinant of incumbent defeats in general, the underlying partisan leanings of the district, has no significant effect in this model. The amount of effort the ousted party puts into regaining the seat, indicated by the presence of a high quality, high spending challenger, has a statistically significant though substantively marginal affect.

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.