An Experimental Template for Case Study Research

Methods are usually classified as either "experimental" or "observational," a dichotomy that has governed social science research for centuries. By implication, this dichotomization precludes a consideration of experimental strategies in case study work. Yet, we argue that one gains purchase on the tasks of research design by integrating the criteria traditionally applied to experimental work to all research in the social sciences—including case study work, the focus of this article. Experimental research designs aim to achieve variation through time and across space while maintaining ceteris paribus assumptions, thus maximizing leverage into the fundamental problem of causal inference. We propose to capture these multiple criteria in a four-fold typology: (1) A Dynamic comparison mirrors laboratory experimentation through the use of both temporal and spatial variation; (2) A Longitudinal comparison employs temporal variation; (3) A Spatial comparison exploits variation through space; and (4) A Counterfactual comparison relies on imagined comparison. All comparison case study research designs can be slotted into one of these four categories. Moreover, the typology illustrates in a concise fashion the ways in which case study research designs attempt to mimic the virtues of experimental design and the degree to which they succeed. The classic experiment, with manipulated treatment and randomized control, thus provides a useful template for discussion about methodological issues in experimental and observational contexts.     

The Italian General Elections: Something New or More of the Same Thing?

Since the Second World War, Italy has been ruled by shifting coalitions dominated by the Christian Democrat Party to the exclusion of the main opposition, the Communist Party. The continuity in power of the government coalitions and inter party/faction negotiations created the conditions for the abuses of state resources which came to light with the investigations of the Milan magistrates. Electoral reforms intended to break the stranglehold of the partyocracy by encouraging the formation of two main alternative political blocs have been implemented. However, the 1994 elections have returned a right wing coalition to power, and the opposition remains deeply divided.     

Rebuilding Ukraine's hollow State: Developing a democratic public service in Ukraine

This article describes assistance that is being provided as part of an institution building project with a view to making a lasting impact on the development of a democratic public service of Ukraine. It explains the nature of the project and the strategies adopted to overcome difficulties. It compares and contrasts approaches adopted by technical assistance projects in assisting administrative reform. It also examines the special nature of the Ukraine project that arises out of the distinctive context and needs of Ukraine. The article continues by examining the role of external assistance in validating the Ukrainian Institute of Public Administration and Local Government's Masters in Public Administration and the contribution made to the development and delivery of the Masters programme. A special feature of the project is the series of one-month internships when IPALG students visit London. The internship programme allows students to identify aspects of UK experience relevant to changes that Ukraine wishes to make in its administrative culture. As part of this programme, students are placed in government organizations and NGOs. The placements are complemented by a series of change management seminars that enable students to evaluate options for change, to assess their own role in the change process and recognize the key stages in the change process. The project team has undertaken a full evaluation of the first presentation of the programme and the article presents the findings.     

Gender,education and the new christian right

She has written several articles on Evangelicals and the Christian School Movement in the United States and on North American evangelical activity in Guatemala. Her most recent publication is Keeping Them Out of the Hands of Satan: Evangelical Schooling in America.     

Do fiscal rules dampen the political business cycle?

This paper develops and tests the theory that fiscal rules limit politicians' ability to manipulate the budget for electoral gain. Using panel data from the American states, I find evidence suggesting that stringent balanced budget rules dampen the political business cycle. That is, while spending rises before and falls after elections in states that can carry deficits into the next fiscal year, this pattern does not exist in states with strict “no-carry” rules. Neither binding gubernatorial term limits nor the partisan composition of government appear to significantly affect the magnitude of the political business cycle.     

Learning and re-learning regime support: The dynamics of post-communist regimes

Abstract. The political support of citizens of new democracies reflects two sets of experiences. Initially, people are socialized into an undemocratic regime; then, they must re-learn political support in relation to a new regime. In an established democracy, it is difficult to disentangle the effect of early socialization and current performance because both refer to the same regime. However, this is both possible and necessary in countries where there has been a change in regime. Critical questions then arise: When, whether and how do citizens determine their support for their new regime? At the start of a new regime past socialization should be more important but, after a few years, current performance should become more important. We draw on 47 Barometer surveys between 1991 and 1998 in ten more or less democratic post-communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to test the relative importance of early socialization influences, the legacy of the communist past, and the political and economic performance of new regimes. We find that economic and political performance explains the most variance in support and, secondarily, the communist legacy. Early socialization is insignificant. However, contrary to economic theories of voting, the impact of political performance is greater than the impact of economic performance in post-communist countries – and its impact is increasing.     

Discrimination Distress During Adolescence

Amidst changing patterns of accommodation and conflict among American ethnic groups, there remains a paucity of research on the nature and impact of racial and ethnic discrimination on development in multiethnic samples of youth. The Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index along with measures of caregiver racial bias preparation and self-esteem was administered to 177 adolescents drawn from 9th–12th graders self-identified as African American, Hispanic, East Asian, South Asian, and non-Hispanic white. Youth from all ethnic backgrounds reported distress associated with instances of perceived racial prejudice encountered in educational contexts. Instances of institutional discrimination in stores and by police were higher for older youth and particularly for African American and Hispanic teenagers. Encounters with peer discrimination were reported most frequently by Asian youth. Reports of racial bias preparation were associated with distress in response to institutional and educational discrimination and self-esteem scores were negatively correlated with distress caused by educational and peer discrimination. The importance of research on discrimination distress to understanding adolescent development in multiethnic ecologies is discussed here.     

Asbestos populism in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest

ABSTRACT

This essay considers the changing relationship between asbestos and populism, as both terms travel across different semantic contexts. It argues that this dynamic relationship can help to outline a populist ecology, through which resource actors such as asbestos play a more significant role than either populist leaders or their people anticipate. Drawing on David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest as a site for examining the implications of this asbestos-inflected populist ecology, the essay suggests new ways of linking the recent populism of Donald Trump to an older, more articulate populism, exemplified by Pierre Trudeau.     

Foundation Ownership and Financial Performance: Do Companies Need Owners?

A curious ownership structure is found in Northern Europe—foundations that own and operate business companies. The foundations are non-profit entities, they have no members and no owners, and they cannot be dissolved. In many cases, these entities control more than 50% of the votes in successful international companies. Obviously, this structure completely blocks the market for corporate control, but it also violates other basic principles of agency theory and corporate finance. Nevertheless, we present evidence that a sample of foundation-owned companies listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange are at least as efficient as other listed companies in terms of risk adjusted stock returns, accounting returns and Tobins Q. Thus, they question whether profit-seeking ownership is a necessary condition for competitive enterprise.JEL Classification: D23, G34, L31