Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Throughout the past several decades, women in Latin America joined guerrilla armies in great numbers. This powerful and unprecedented mobilization has been explained through structural changes in women’s gender roles and the emergence of new political and religious organizations that mobilized women. However, of the many women experiencing these structural changes, and of the many women embedded in these new mobilizing networks, only a portion actually made the move into guerrilla camps. The question of what specifically distinguishes participants from non-participants is left unanswered, in part because the data necessary for making the distinction has not previously been collected, and in part because current models of micromobilization do not adequately capture the complexity of micromobilization decisions, especially in a situation of societal upheaval. This project combines better data with an expanded theoretical model to examine the various processes that led women to the guerrilla camps in El Salvador. The results of the analysis not only provide the first micro-level explanation of women’s mobilization into guerilla armies, but also demonstrate new ways of thinking about and modeling individual-level variation in all types of movement mobilization. Specifically, I argue that the interaction of identity, biography, and resources can produce very different routes to participation among individuals embedded in similar networks.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Research has shown that self-employment can provide an avenue for upward mobility potentially unavailable otherwise. However, substantial self-employment rate disparities have been observed between different ethnic groups, fostering much debate as to the potential explanations for these differences. Using the U.S. Census 1 percent PUMS data from 1970 to 2000, I examine two potential explanations for ethnic variation in self-employment rates: labor market disadvantage and the fiscal attractiveness of self-employment. This paper initially identifies divergent trends in self-employment for native-born whites and African Americans, as well as for foreign-born Chinese, Korean, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, Russian and Black Caribbean immigrants. Evidence of persistent labor market disadvantage is also presented. However, this disadvantage does not explain the majority of the variation in self-employment rates. Support for the resource-constraint model of labor market disadvantage on the probability of self-employment is found for some, but not all groups. Finally, data on the possible effects of the economic “pull” of self-employment is offered and examined. Although little evidence of a pecuniary advantage to self-employment is found, the self-employment rates of the most entrepreneurial racial/ethnic groups is observed to reflect the fluctuations of economic returns to self-employment for those groups. Evidence of exogenous forces is introduced. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Research on corporate philanthropy has largely focused on the relationship between the firm and the state, e.g., the influence of federal tax rates on corporate contributions. With few exceptions, little attention has been paid to institutional pressures on corporate giving. By incorporating hypotheses derived from both neoclassical and institutional theories, this paper seeks to explain the creation of company-sponsored foundations among Fortune 500 firms, 1950-2000. In this study, 1,523 firms are analyzed using a discrete-time logit model to estimate the hazard rate for establishing a company-sponsored foundation. I find that the inception of company-sponsored foundations is driven not only by tax policies and market forces, but can be explained by institutional pressures such as peer influence, press coverage, and public perception.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the post-TRIPS era, there has been increasing interest in regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements as tools used to increased international IP protection. Scholars of international relations have, however, devoted far less attention to the reinvigoration of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)--the pre-TRIPS guardian of international IP norm-setting--as an active participant in the push to generate higher international IP norms and increase international IP protection beyond that required by TRIPS. In September 2004, amidst concerns that WIPO has been 'captured' by a narrow group of industry interests and industrialised countries, a group of developing countries launched a proposal for a WIPO 'Development Agenda' that would reform WIPO's mandate, perspective, norm-setting functions and programmatic activities. This paper evaluates the prospects for the institutional reform proposals embodied in the 'Development Agenda'. It begins by introducing the main contours of contemporary debates in WIPO, the key actors, and the core elements of the Development Agenda. To understand the prospects for reform at WIPO, I argue that it is vital to reflect on both the history of the organisation and its core organisational features. Using a historical institutionalist framework, I review the evolution of ideas within WIPO regarding the purpose of the organisation and perspectives on intellectual property and the historical antecedents to the contemporary Development Agenda debate. In addition, I explore the unique institutional features, incentives and deficiencies that emerge from WIPO's unique governance and funding structures. I link this analysis to the lessons derived from the IR literature on the reform of international organisations to offer an evaluation of the prospects of the Development Agenda itself. Finally, I reflect on the implications that the insights from this analysis have for the political strategies of those working to promote a more accountable, transparent and development-oriented WIPO.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: With so much discussion of the powerful pro-Israel lobby’s impacts on American foreign policy in the Middle East, little attention is paid to the pro-Arab groups in Washington, DC. While appreciating the strength of the former, this paper attempts to outline how the latter try to shape American policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From research conducted with assistance from the American Political Science Association’s Centennial Center, I look at pro-Arab political action in three overlapping settings. First, I contrast pro-Arab efforts with those of the pro-Israel lobby, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. I ask, why are pro-Arab groups weak compared to the pro-Israel lobby? Second, I look at pro-Palestinian efforts within the larger pro-Arab lobbying background. In particular, I am interested in contrasting similarities and differences between the pro-Palestinian and pro-Arab organizational missions. Third, I examine the interaction between the pro-Arab networks and American policy. From interviews conducted with leaders of pro-Arab organizations in Washington DC, this paper inspects the efforts to influence American foreign policy toward the two-state solution in the post-Cold War world and during the war on terrorism. I find that while pro-Arab lobbying pales in comparison to those of the pro-Israel lobby, the end of the Cold-War, the current war on terrorism, and clear American and international support for the two-state solution as manifested by public opinion polls, policymakers’ statements, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1397 and 1515, provide the pro-Arab lobby with a crucial opportunity to realize its vision of Palestinian statehood.