Financialization is more rapid when interested sectors are more active in politics and unions and the Democratic Party are weaker

The past three decades have seen a rapid increase in the financialization of the American economy, with the financial sector growing in importance to the economy. In new research, Christopher Witko finds that this growth in financialization was not a ‘natural’ economic development, but a consequence of public policy choices that occur when large firms in the FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate) sector are active in politics, and the Democratic Party and unions are not as strong

Democrats, those with low income, and those concerned with inequality are likely to support “Robin Hood” tax policies

As income inequality has grown in the U.S., so too have movements to increase taxes on the wealthy, such as the addition of the “Buffet Rule” to President Obama’s tax plan. But what drives support for these so-called “Robin Hood” tax initiatives? Using data taken from Proposition 1098, a citizen initiative to impose an income tax on the wealthy, Christopher Witko, along with co-authors William Franko and Caroline Tolbert, find that personal gain is only one motive for supporting these policies; an ideological concern with inequality and allegiance to the Democratic Party are also significant predictors of support

In times of growth, states with Democratic governments are more able to stimulate employment than those with conservative ones

In the years following the Great Recession, unemployment rates have varied markedly across U.S. states. While much of this is down to national trends, how do state politics influence unemployment levels? In new research, Christopher Witko and Nate Kelly find that while in recessions, both Republican and Democratic governments have little effect on unemployment rates, during times of increasing growth, states with Democratic governments see larger reductions in unemployment. They argue that liberal governments have more freedom to introduce policies that stimulate employment such as consumption spending when growth is on the rise

Congressional gridlock helps to make income inequality worse

Last December, President Obama warned of ‘dangerous and growing inequality’ in America, reflecting growing concerns that inequality is increasing, especially in relation to other countries. Peter K. Enns, Nathan J. Kelly, Jana Morgan, Thomas Volscho and Christopher Witko investigate the role of what they argue is a major contributing factor to rising inequality: the tendency for the current political and economic conditions to maintain the policy status quo. They argue that the increasing political polarization that makes it harder for Congress to pass laws in turn contributes to rising inequality, especially when inequality is already growing rapidly

Policy positions, power and interest group-party lobby routines

Prior literature points to the importance of party power and ideology for interest group-party contacts in the legislative arena. But interest groups do not often have ideologies – they are typically active in a small number of policy domains and there may be different parties that share more similar preferences across different policy areas. Therefore, we examine whether and how party power and proximity in policy preferences predict the existence of party-interest group ‘lobby routines’ in specific policy domains, using a novel survey of representative samples of interest groups in seven long-established democracies. We find that groups often form routines with different parties in different policy areas and that preference proximity on relevant policy dimensions is positively associated with having such area-specific lobby routines. However, the results also suggest that powerful parties are more likely allies and that the effect of policy proximity on routines is positively conditioned by power

Introducing the party-interest group relationships in contemporary democracies datasets

Few existing datasets on parties and interest groups include data from both sides and a wide variety of interest groups and parties. We contribute to filling this gap by making several interconnected new datasets publicly available. The PartyInterest Group Relationships in Contemporary Democracies (PAIRDEM) datasets include cross-national data from three different surveys of (1) central party organizations, (2) legislative party groups, and (3) interest groups. A fourth dataset based on coding of party statutes and party finance data was established together with the Political Party Database The datasets contain novel indicators on party-group relationships in up to 21 mature democracies. In this research note, we first present the main content of the datasets and the research design. Second, we present descriptive statistics documenting the extent of organizational ties between parties and groups in contemporary democracies. Third, we illustrate more advanced usage through a simple application

Integrating data types to estimate spatial patterns of avian migration across the Western Hemisphere

For many avian species, spatial migration patterns remain largely undescribed, especially across hemispheric extents. Recent advancements in tracking technologies and high-resolution species distribution models (i.e., eBird Status and Trends products) provide new insights into migratory bird movements and offer a promising opportunity for integrating independent data sources to describe avian migration. Here, we present a three-stage modeling framework for estimating spatial patterns of avian migration. First, we integrate tracking and band re-encounter data to quantify migratory connectivity, defined as the relative proportions of individuals migrating between breeding and nonbreeding regions. Next, we use estimated connectivity proportions along with eBird occurrence probabilities to produce probabilistic least-cost path (LCP) indices. In a final step, we use generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) both to evaluate the ability of LCP indices to accurately predict (i.e., as a covariate) observed locations derived from tracking and band re-encounter data sets versus pseudo-absence locations during migratory periods and to create a fully integrated (i.e., eBird occurrence, LCP, and tracking/band re-encounter data) spatial prediction index for mapping species-specific seasonal migrations. To illustrate this approach, we apply this framework to describe seasonal migrations of 12 bird species across the Western Hemisphere during pre- and postbreeding migratory periods (i.e., spring and fall, respectively). We found that including LCP indices with eBird occurrence in GAMMs generally improved the ability to accurately predict observed migratory locations compared to models with eBird occurrence alone. Using three performance metrics, the eBird + LCP model demonstrated equivalent or superior fit relative to the eBird-only model for 22 of 24 species–season GAMMs. In particular, the integrated index filled in spatial gaps for species with over-water movements and those that migrated over land where there were few eBird sightings and, thus, low predictive ability of eBird occurrence probabilities (e.g., Amazonian rainforest in South America). This methodology of combining individual-based seasonal movement data with temporally dynamic species distribution models provides a comprehensive approach to integrating multiple data types to describe broad-scale spatial patterns of animal movement. Further development and customization of this approach will continue to advance knowledge about the full annual cycle and conservation of migratory birds

Electoral Vulnerability, Party Affiliation, and Dyadic Constituency Responsiveness in U.S. Legislatures

It is often argued that electoral vulnerability is critical to constituency responsiveness. We investigate this possibility using different measures of vulnerability, but argue that in the United States the Republican Party may be less responsive than the Democratic Party due to its core constituency and view of representation. We test our hypotheses relying on an innovative research design that exploits referenda in U.S. states to compare legislator voting behavior with voter preferences on exactly the same policy proposal, allowing us to overcome the measurement problems of much previous research. Based on a newly compiled data set of more than 3,000 voting decisions for 818 legislators on 27 referenda, we find high levels of congruence, but that congruence with the median voter is higher for legislators who are running for reelection. We also find that Democrats are more responsive after a close election but that Republicans are not sensitive to electoral margins.Peer Reviewe

Replication data for: The Politics of Financialization in the United States, 1949-2005

Financial activity has become increasingly important in affluent economies in recent decades. Because this ``financialization'' distributes costs and benefits unevenly across groups, politics and policy likely affect the process. Therefore, in this article I consider how changes in the power of organizations representing the ``winners'' and ``losers'' of financialization affect its pace. In an analysis of the U.S. from 1949 to 2005, I find that when unions are stronger, and the Democratic Party is in power and more reliant on the support of working class voters, financialization is slower. In contrast, when the financial industry is more highly mobilized into politics financialization is faster. I also observe that financial deregulation was one policy translating the political power of these actors into economic outcomes

Regulation and Upper Class Bias Data

This is replication data for an article examining the relationship between campaign finance regulation and organizational bias toward upper class actors in campaign finance system