Assimilation, contrast and voter projections of parties in left-right space :…

When voters place parties in their system along the left-right dimension, they often pull their preferred party closer towards them (assimilation) and push the opposition further away (contrast). This article asks a simple question: are such assimilation and contrast effects similarly powerful across different types of electoral system? I hypothesize that systems employing single-member distric…

Conceptualizing Left and Right in comparative politics : Towards a deductive …

Despite the importance of the Left-Right dimension in comparative politics, establishing an index that captures this dimension in both a theoretically and empirically sound manner remains an ongoing challenge for political scientists. Having reviewed existing attempts to construct measures for the Left-Right dimension, and having concluded that they are merely inductive and problematic from a m…

Doomed to disagree? Party-voter discipline and policy gridlock under divided …

This article explains the existence of policy gridlock in systems with divided government, even when there are policies that are universally preferred to the status quo. It is shown analytically that one dimension of party institutionalization (the degree of party-voter discipline) may create incentives for veto players to block policies that, ideologically, they might like. This is the case be…

Wedge-issue dynamics and party position shifts : Chinese exclusion debates in…

Even when the stakes of party-building are high, political parties often find their members divided over a key policy position. In post-Reconstruction America, the hot-button issue of excluding Chinese immigrant workers strengthened Democratic cohesion while splitting the ‘party of Lincoln’. Previous research has not completely investigated the role of party competition and cohesiveness in pavi…

Evidence-Based Versus Junk-Based Evaluation Research : Some Lessons From 35 Y…

Edition

Vol. 35 no. 3, June 2011.pp. 191-203

ISBN/ISSN

0193841X

Collation

-

Series Title

Evaluation Review

Call Number

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Conventional and Piecewise Growth Modeling Techniques : Applications and Impl…

This article reviews the mechanics of conventional and piecewise growth models to demonstrate the unique affordances of each technique for examining the nature and predictors of children’s early literacy learning during the transition from preschool through first grade. Using the nationally representative Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) data set, 1997 cohort, the authors show how pi…

Testing Mediation Using Multiple Regression and Structural Equation Modeling …

Mediation analysis in child and adolescent development research is possible using large secondary data sets. This article provides an overview of two statistical methods commonly used to test mediated effects in secondary analysis: multiple regression and structural equation modeling (SEM). Two empirical studies are presented to illustrate the respective circumstances in which the two methods a…

Methodological Considerations in Using Complex Survey Data : An Applied Examp…

Complex survey data are collected by means other than simple random samples. This creates two analytical issues: nonindependence and unequal selection probability. Failing to address these issues results in underestimated standard errors and biased parameter estimates. Using data from the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES; 1997 and 2000 cohorts), th…

Complex Sample Data Recommendations and Troubleshooting

Complex survey data, as highlighted in this issue of Evaluation Review, provide a wealth of opportunities for answering methodological and/or applied research questions. However, the analytic issues of nonindependence and unequal selection probability must be addressed when analyzing this type of data. Thus, to ensure that research questions are accurately answered when using complex survey dat…

Politically Allocated Land Rights and the Geography of Electoral Violence : T…

Large literatures in political theory and political economy argue that private property regimes help support liberal electoral regimes by constraining majoritarian politics, lowering the stakes of elections, and protecting “fundamental” or minority rights. This article probes implications of this argument for elections in sub-Saharan Africa, a mostly rural continent where only about 2% to 10% o…

The Global Diffusion of Regulatory Agencies : Channels of Transfer and Stages…

The autonomous regulatory agency has recently become the “appropriate model” of governance across countries and sectors. The dynamics of this process are captured in the authors’ data set, which covers the establishment of agencies in 48 countries and 15 sectors for the period 1966-2007. Adopting a diffusion approach to explain this broad process of institutional change, the authors explore the…

Too Close for Comfort? Immigrant Exclusion in Africa

Why do some immigrant minorities in the developing world integrate into their host societies whereas others face exclusion and hostility? This article offers new insights on the determinants of political identity and group relations in ethnically diverse societies through the lens of South-to-South migration. Using original data from surveys and interviews collected during 12 months of field re…

Determinants of Attitudes Toward Transitional Justice : An Empirical Analysis…

Much has been said about the institutional determinants of transitional justice (TJ), yet scholars still know little about the determinants of citizens’ attitudes toward restorative policies aimed at addressing human rights violations of the past. This article draws on an original survey of a representative sample of Spanish citizens conducted in 2008. One year earlier, the Spanish socialist go…

The Legitimacy of Political Institutions : Explaining Contemporary Populism i…

Populism is an enduring feature of Latin American electoral democracies. Within the past decade, scholars have witnessed the political ascendancy of populist politicians from both the left and right of the ideological spectrum. This naturally raises the question as to why populism has proven resilient in some Latin American democracies, whereas in others political forces have remained relativel…

Unsuccessful Success? Failed No-Confidence Motions, Competence Signals, and E…

If no-confidence motions are primarily motivated by bringing down governments, why do only approximately 5% of no-confidence motions in advanced parliamentary democracies from 1960 result in the termination of government? In this project the author addresses this puzzle by developing a formal model of the electoral benefits of no-confidence motions and tests these hypotheses with the use of an …

Support for Polyarchy in the Americas

This study measures support for the basic rights, liberties, and practices associated with polyarchy in 12 Latin American democracies. Specifically, it identifies five profiles of support for polyarchy’s core values and norms—public contestation, inclusive participation, limits on executive authority, and institutional checks and balances. Although citizens who fit the polyarch profile accept a…

Do International Election Monitors Increase or Decrease Opposition Boycotts?

Election boycotts are over twice as common when international observers are present. Do international observers increase election boycotts as this correlation and past research suggest? This article argues not. Observers tend to go to elections with many problems, and it is primarily these, rather than monitors, that drive boycotts. Furthermore, opposition parties have reasons to hope that obse…

Measuring Dissent in Electoral Authoritarian Societies : Lessons From Azerbai…

Although authoritarian regimes assert control over electoral processes, election returns can yield valuable information about dissent. Using election data from two votes in Azerbaijan, this article assesses hypotheses about the sources of antiregime results. The analysis indicates that dissenting votes may be produced by a combination of elite interference at the national and local levels, and …

Classing early intervention : Social class, occupational moralities and crimi…

This article interrogates the nature of judgements used by social control professionals to identify signs of anti-social behaviour amongst young people and families referred to early intervention programmes. The emphasis of professionals working within such networks is mostly benevolent in seeking to support and direct specific services at particular individuals. This article traces the effects…

Human trafficking as a lever for feminist voices? Transformations of the Dani…

In Denmark, human trafficking has emerged as a central issue within the policy field of prostitution during the last decade. Taking a Foucauldian approach from a historical perspective, understanding the policy field of prostitution as a discursive terrain, the article analyses the thinking that lies behind policies on prostitution by identifying ruptures and discursive struggles which lead to …