Learning about Voter Rationality

An important empirical literature evaluates whether voters are rational by examining how electoral outcomes respond to events outside the control of politicians, such as natural disasters or economic shocks. The argument is that rational voters should not base electoral decisions on such events, so evidence that these events affect electoral outcomes is evidence of voter irrationality. We show that such events can affect electoral outcomes, even if voters are rational and have instrumental preferences. The reason is that these events change voters' opportunities to learn new information about incumbents. Thus, identifying voter (ir)rationality requires more than just identifying the impact of exogenous shocks on electoral fortunes. Our analysis highlights systematic ways in which electoral fortunes are expected to change in response to events outside incumbents' control. Such results can inform empirical work attempting to identify voter (ir)rationality.     

Identifying Media Effects Through Low-Cost,Multiwave Field Experiments

Field experiments are notoriously difficult to implement when studying media effects. They are often prohibitively expensive, require the cooperation of a nonacademic entity, and measure effects some time after exposure to treatment. In this article, we outline a design for low-cost, multiwave field experiments of media effects. Researchers can implement this design on their own and can control the timing of when they measure effects. We demonstrate the feasibility of the design with an application to the study of presidential debates.     

Short-Term Prospective Effects of Homophobic Victimization on the Mental Health of Heterosexual Adolescents

Many heterosexual youth report homophobic victimization but there is little longitudinal research to examine its mental health consequences for them. In a 7-month study across an academic school year among 572 heterosexual high school students (55 % females), we tested the short-term effects of homophobic victimization on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attention to gender differences. Homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted higher levels of concurrent anxiety over and above levels attributable to general victimization. Further, when controlling for initial anxiety and general victimization, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted increased anxiety at the end of the school year for males, but not for females. Homophobic victimization across time points was more strongly associated for males than females, and this accounted for why initial homophobic victimization predicted increased anxiety for males but not females (i.e., it was indicative of mediated moderation). In contrast, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year did not predict concurrent depressive symptoms over and above general victimization. Similarly, although it predicted increased depressive symptoms at the end of the school year for males but not for females, the effect was weaker than for anxiety. These findings underscore that the effects of homophobic victimization are not temporary, particularly as they pertain to anxiety, and underscore the need to consider the nature of the victimization that youth experience, including for heterosexual youth.     

Exclusionary School Discipline and Delinquent Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Excluding students from school remains a common form of punishment despite growing critique of the practice. A disparate research base has impeded the ability to...     

On the need for a philosophical investigation of capital punishment by the U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court needs to clearly articulate the legal-political philosophy underlying its decisions so that consistency can be sought. Decisions involving life-and-death issued, such as capital punishment, should be based on sound, articulated philosophy rather than public opinion polls and the perceived mood of the public. Supreme Court justices, like everyone else, bring their own biases to their decisionmaking, but too often cases appear to be decided on “technical” due process issues rather than philosophic grounds. Of course, the “due process” interpretations used actually reflect inarticulated political philosophy.     

Public affairs and political strategy: theoretical foundations

During the past two decades there have been hundreds of articles published within the broad topic of business political strategy, many of them rigorous and innovative. This paper presents a review and assessment of the theoretical bases of extant research, focusing on three broad research questions: Why do firms participate in the political process? What strategies and tactics do firms employ? What are the limitations on firms' capacity for rational action in the political arena? Research in political strategy has been informed by interest group theory, collective action theory, public choice theory, transaction costs theory, game theory, resource dependence theory, institutional theory, agency theory, the behavioural theory of the firm, business strategy, and population ecology. The paper concludes with a plea to scholars to conduct research in this area which is explicitly and consistently grounded in broad theories of social science. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications