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Policy Research
Polarization, Inequality, and the State Legislatures
Renee O’Connell
July 2016
This article addresses the poorly understood question of what causes political polarization in state politics. The authors acknowledge commonly cited yet relatively unsupported theories of state polarization and propose their own ideas. One common explanation for polarization in states is that redistricting creates a number of “safe seats”, or districts that will almost guarantee a candidate of a certain party, which in turn allows candidates to focus on pleasing the party rather than attracting a wider range of constituents. However, districts drawn by bipartisan commissions see similar levels of polarization as gerrymandered districts. Another theory used to explain polarization in state politics is that closed primary elections (which only allow registered party members to vote) elicit participation from the most polarized voters, which in turn produces the most polarized candidates. However, research found that ideological differences between registered and nonregistered voters were minimal. Because there is minimal data supporting the idea that party primaries or redistricting are encouraging more polarized candidates, the authors propose that polarization is a function of the party elites who have become more polarized. Authors used data from all 50 states from the years 2006 and 2013, and conducted this study using the Shor-McCarty Individual State Legislator Ideology Data.
Why Didn't Higher Education Protect Hispanic and Black Wealth
William R. Emmons, Bryan J. Noeth
August 2015
The article takes a unique approach to addressing the financial benefit to higher education in minority groups. The article argues that across the board, whether a family has African American, Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian or any other roots, that family will, on average, make up to three times as much compared to the non-educated counterparts. However, while the acclamation of wealth is consistent across these different groups, higher education only protects wealth for white and Asian families. Better educated families often withstand major economic and financial shocks better than those with less education, yet the typical Hispanic or Black college educated family lost much more wealth during our great recession. While the authors do not have a definitive reason for this taking place, they have concluded that while higher education helps, it does not completely level the playing field between minority and majority groups.
The Effect of Incomplete Information in a Threshold Public Goods Experiment
Melanie Marks, Rachel Croson
May 1996
This study done by Marks and Croson aims to address a commonly missed factor when it comes to voluntary contributions, not giving the contributors complete information. In all their former studies, the researchers had given their subjects complete information. In this study, the researchers chose to show the subjects incomplete information regarding the contribution behaviors of the group to test the effects of this change on contribution behavior. Marks and Croson came to the conclusion that incomplete information does not have any effect on the actual outcome of the experiment, and did not impact contribution behavior among the subjects of the study.
Identifiability of Individual Contributions in a Threshold Public Goods Experiment
Rachel Croson, Melanie Marks
December 1997
Due to financial stress and the unpopularity of higher taxes, there is a renewed interest in voluntary contributions as the means of fund public goods in the United States. If projects are funded by voluntary contributions, government officials do not have to worry about the political implications of raising taxes. The goal is to provide public services without any waste of public resources through over-contribution. In this experiment, Croson and Marks tested the theory that providing more information about individual contribution behavior would promote more coordination among donors, leading to less waste. They investigated three treatments, Group Only, Individual-Anonymous, and Individual-Identifiable. In the Group Only treatment, subjects were informed of the group’s aggregate contribution to the public good. With the Individual-Anonymous treatment, subjects were given a list of the individual contributions in a random order, keeping the contributor’s identity anonymous. In the Individual-Identifiable treatment, both the individual’s amount of contribution and their identity were disclosed to the subjects. Of the three treatments, Group Only and Individual-Identifiable were the most successful. Individual-Anonymous led to the least amount of contributions and the least amount of coordination in funding the public good. Croson and Marks believe that the Individual-Identifiable treatment had a higher success rate than the Individual-Anonymous treatment because individuals were concerned with their reputation among the group. The possibility of others seeing their contributions led them to contribute much more than they did in the Individual-Anonymous treatment. The Group-Only treatment had a similar success rate, which Croson and Marks believe to stem from the effort of coordinating contributions within the group. In this experiment, Croson and Marks show that the dissemination of information can be an important factor in fundraising efforts.
Wealth Inequality in Black and White: Cultural and Structural Sources of the Racial Wealth Gap
Cedric Herring, Loren Henderson
February 2016
In terms of wealth, whites have far more favorable characteristics in every area (stock ownership, bankruptcies, educational attainment, etc.) than African-Americans do. The racial wealth gap is not due to cultural factors, but rather differences in income, stock ownership, and business ownership. Some previous explanations have previously centered on cultural norms such as single parent households and poor spending practices as an explanation; these explanations alone do not hold up to scrutiny in the face of structural explanations. Other previous explanations have focused on practices such as redlining (denial of access based on certain characteristics like race) and other discriminatory practices in the housing and business market. Age plays a large role in these explanations, as discriminatory practices affect the amount of wealth available to be transferred from old to young African Americans; these practices do not affect white Americans to the same degree. These findings are backed up by a study that used random sampling and controls for wealth disparities between African Americans and Whites, as well as wealth within races. Regardless of similar variables, African Americans still suffer from a large wealth gap compared to white Americans, especially in higher income brackets.
The Future of the Affordable Care Act: Reassessment and Revision
Stuart M. Butler, PhD, MA
July 2016
The article functions as a critique of Obama’s article “United States Healthcare Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps”. While Butler does acknowledge the benefits of the ACA, he outlines its’ multiple shortcomings. One of his primary complaints is with the health exchange program; while enrollments for Medicaid are up, the health exchange program is not being utilized due to the relatively high premiums and out of pocket costs. In essence, the program is meant for more for those with much lower incomes (who are eligible for Medicaid) than those with middling incomes. Butler also states that while the ACA could possibly slow down growth of per capita spending, others believe it will increase. Butler believes that the ACA should be examined more closely on a fundamental level to better provide for non-poor families and allow for more clear guidance and flexibility to the states in regards to Medicaid expansion. Butler also stresses the need to consider healthcare in the context of other social determinants of health, not limited to but including housing, transportation, social services, etc.
United States Health Care Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps
Barack Obama, JD
July 2016
President Obama analyzes his own health care policies’ effectiveness. He starts off by putting the healthcare crisis in context--how much more was previously spent to improve healthcare without many returns being made in terms of quality and amount of care. The focus needed to be shifted from treatment when illness was present to preventative care, in order to improve healthcare standards and reduce costs. By using multiple survey formats (public government data, private survey data, etc.), he goes on to analyze the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the uninsured rate and access to quality care rates. He concludes that due to the Affordable Care Act, the uninsured rate (cut from 16% to 9.1%) and access to quality health care rates have improved substantially in the US over the past 5 years alone (2010-2015). There have also been improvements in financial security and health benefits for Americans, as well as a reform of traditional healthcare payment systems (ala bundled payments and accountable care organizations) by holding organizations liable for outcomes.
Tax Benefits for College Attendance
Susan Dynarski, Judith Scott-Clayton
March 2016
The article examines various higher education focused tax credits and savings deductions in an attempt to estimate their savings and behavioral effects on people at various income levels. The study compares a variety of research on the topic and finds that higher education tax credits such as the Hope, Lifetime Learning, and American Opportunity credits have had very little to no significant impact on individual’s decision to attend college. Further, the article finds that a significant portion of credit benefit is offset in grant aid offered by schools. The article also points to research that shows higher education tax deduction accounts are rarely utilized, and mostly benefit those in the higher income brackets due to increased marginal returns. The study also notes that 14 percent of families eligible for education tax credits did not claim them, and 40 percent of filers who claimed the tuition tax deduction would have been better off claiming a credit instead. Finally the study mentions that those who choose not to claim the credits would benefit most.
Do Industrial Tax Abatements Spur Property Value Growth
Sung Hoon Kang, Laura Reese, Mark Skidmore
July 2015
The article examines industrial tax abatement programs in Michigan in an attempt to determine the effectiveness both as a form of attracting business to a region and at increasing property values. The study examines industrial, commercial, and residential property values in 5 counties in southeast Michigan over time and compares the effects of a variety of tax abatement programs. The article finds that offering tax abatement in a locality significantly increased industrial investment and the effect was larger in areas with higher property tax rates. Further, the study found that offering the abatements increased industrial property values and also had positive spillover effects on commercial and residential properties. Despite the positive gains, however, the study ultimately concluded that the forgone tax revenue was too large making abatement programs a cost-inefficient method of attracting economic growth. Additionally, a city offering a tax abatement incentive has negative effects on surrounding cities property values and investment levels.
Dynamic Responsiveness in the American States, 1936 to 2014
Renee O’Connell
July 2016
Principally, democratic governments should respond to the will of the people. Therefore, changes in public opinion should result in changes in public policy. The authors of this study find that changes in the mass public’s policy views are associated with changes in state policy outputs. Additionally, the authors address the role of institutional design and responsiveness, and they find little consistent support that institutions such as term limits, direct democracy, and campaign finance limits improve responsiveness to public opinion.