The Benefits of Being Neighbors with a Local Politician
Local politicians often make decisions about building new housing projects. Even though towns need more housing to solve shortages and…
Chinese Overseas Investments and the Busting of U.S. Sanctions
The past twenty years suggest that China wants to increase its economic and political reach at the expense of the…
Enfranchisement and Representation: Italy’s 1912 Quasi-Universal Suffrage Reform
Party affiliation and personal social background are powerful explanatory variables of politicians’ policy preferences. But do voting rights affect the…
Politics, Not Expertise, Drove the Origins of the Administrative State
Two upcoming decisions by the Supreme Court, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, may…
How much of an incentive to vote strategically is there in instant runoff voting?
The instant-runoff voting system (IRV) has recently been a popular reform proposal in several countries. In IRV (also known as…
Reversals of Capacity: Norms, Culture, and Institutional Disruption
The public sector must hold the capacity to effectively address pressing concerns such as climate change and environmental degradation. In…
Are Stronger Parties Good for Women? Not Always
Worldwide, women are underrepresented in politics. According to The World Bank, as of 2022, only 26 % of seats in…
How people can change their actions without changing their minds
In the realm of political science, there’s a prevailing assumption that people’s actions stem directly from their preferences – essentially,…
Plastic to the rescue: Can access to credit be a substitute for social safety nets?
With US federal funds rates hovering over 5%, many mourn the passing of an era of cheap credit in the…
The Political Feasibility of Carbon Taxes: How Do Pocketbook and Distributional Concerns Affect Citizens’ Preferences for Carbon Taxation?
In the realm of climate policy, carbon taxation stands out as an economically important yet politically contentious instrument. Despite widespread…