The voter initiative and the power of the governor: Evidence from campaign expenditures

Accepted ManuscriptAlthough a great deal of research examines the impact of the voter initiative process on the state legislature, the consequences for the state executive branch have been largely ignored. The voter initiative process provides the governor with a method to circumvent the legislature, which may increase the power of the governor in theory. However, it also provides citizens with a means to bypass the traditional lawmaking process and avoid the governor’s veto. This may reduce the power of the governor and lead to policies farther from the preferences of the governor. This study examines the impact of the voter initiative process on the power of the state governor by estimating total election cycle spending. Campaign expenditures are expected to reflect any sustained gain or loss in power due to the availability of the voter initiative process. The results indicate that gubernatorial campaign expenditures are significantly lower in states in which the voter initiative process is available. This finding suggests that state governors sustain a loss in political power when the voter initiative is available. Additionally, the findings imply that individuals may employ the voter initiative process as a substitute for gubernatorial support.Randolph, G.M. (2011). The voter initiative and the power of the governor: Evidence from campaign expenditures. Constitutional Political Economy, 22(3), 265-286

Essays on the effects of the voter initiative in U.S. states

This dissertation is a collection of papers that examines the effects of the voter initiative in U.S. states. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the voter initiative process and outlines the research agenda for this dissertation. Chapter 2 explores the history of the voter initiative in U.S. states and examines the differences in the voter initiative process between states in the U.S. Additionally, this chapter provides a general survey of the literature regarding the effects of the voter initiative on political and economic outcomes. Chapter 3 examines the interest group orientation of total state spending in U.S. states. A measure for the publicness of state spending is calculated in order to examine the interest group influence on state spending in both voter initiative and non-initiative states. The results show that the voter initiative process does not decrease the interest group orientation of state expenditures. Chapter 4 investigates the impact of the voter initiative on total per capita state election cycle spending in state gubernatorial and state legislative elections. The results indicate that the availability of the voter initiative decreases the value of both state legislative and state gubernatorial offices. The impact of the voter initiative appears to have a larger negative effect on the value of state legislative offices in comparison to state gubernatorial offices. Chapter 5 empirically analyzes the impact of the voter initiative on the production of legislation in U.S. states. The amount of legislation enacted by state legislators is estimated in order to examine the effects of the voter initiative. This chapter also explores the impact of the voter initiative on the number of special sessions called in U.S. states. Finally, the effect of the voter initiative on the usage of the governor\u27s veto in U.S. states is examined. The results indicate that voter initiative states enact more legislation, call a greater number of special sessions, and have less gubernatorial vetoes than non-initiative states. Chapter 6 summarizes the major findings in the dissertation, discusses the policy implications, and suggests future areas of research regarding the voter initiative

Special interest group formation in the US: Do special interest groups mirror the success of their spatial neighbors?

Author's originalSpecial interest groups exert a great deal of influence over political outcomes in the U.S. Thus, understanding the determining factors for the formation of special interest groups is important. The literature, however, has excluded the role of spatial neighbors. This paper employs spatial econometric techniques to discriminately analyze the factors determining the number of special interest groups in a state. While geographic location is not a factor, gross state product, state general expenditures, and union membership relationships between states are crucial in the formation of special interest groups across states.Randolph, G.M. & Tasto, M.T.(2012). Special interest group formation in the US: Do special interest groups mirror the success of their spatial neighbors? Economics & Politics, 24(2), 119-134

An Experimental Protocol to Model Recovery of Anaerobic Work Capacity

Models of fatigue are based on physiological parameters such as Critical Power (CP) and Anaerobic Work Capacity (AWC). CP is a theoretical threshold value that a human can generate for an indefinite amount of time and AWC represents a finite expendable amount of anaerobic energy at intensities above CP. There is an increasing interest in developing mathematical models of energy expenditure and recovery for athletic training and human performance. The objective of this research is to propose and validate a model for recovery of AWC during a post exertion recovery interval of cycling. A cycling ergometer study is proposed which involves a VO2max ramp test to determine gas exchange threshold, a 3-min all-out intensity test to determine CP and AWC, and exertion-recovery interval tests to understand recovery of AWC. The results will be used to build a human in the loop control system to optimize cycling performance

A survey of mathematical models of human performance using power and energy

The ability to predict the systematic decrease of power during physical exertion gives valuable insights into health, performance, and injury. This review surveys the research of power-based models of fatigue and recovery within the area of human performance. Upon a thorough review of available literature, it is observed that the two-parameter critical power model is most popular due to its simplicity. This two-parameter model is a hyperbolic relationship between power and time with critical power as the power-asymptote and the curvature constant denoted by W′. Critical power (CP) is a theoretical power output that can be sustained indefinitely by an individual, and the curvature constant (W′) represents the amount of work that can be done above CP. Different methods and models have been validated to determine CP and W′, most of which are algebraic manipulations of the two-parameter model. The models yield different CP and W′ estimates for the same data depending on the regression fit and rounding off approximations. These estimates, at the subject level, have an inherent day-to-day variability called intra-individual variability (IIV) associated with them, which is not captured by any of the existing methods. This calls for a need for new methods to arrive at the IIV associated with CP and W′. Furthermore, existing models focus on the expenditure of W′ for efforts above CP and do not model its recovery in the sub-CP domain. Thus, there is a need for methods and models that account for (i) the IIV to measure the effectiveness of individual training prescriptions and (ii) the recovery of W′ to aid human performance optimization

Modeling the Expenditure and Recovery of Anaerobic Work Capacity in Cycling

The objective of this research is to model the expenditure and recovery of Anaerobic Work Capacity (AWC) as related to Critical Power (CP) during cycling. CP is a theoretical value at which a human can operate indefinitely and AWC is the energy that can be expended above CP. There are several models to predict AWC-depletion, however, only a few to model AWC recovery. A cycling study was conducted with nine recreationally active subjects. CP and AWC were determined by a 3-min all-out test. The subjects performed interval tests at three recovery intervals (15 s, 30 s, or 60 s) and three recovery powers (0.50CP, 0.75CP, and CP). It was determined that the rate of expenditure exceeds recovery and the amount of AWC recovered is influenced more by recovery power level than recovery duration. Moreover, recovery rate varies by individual and thus, a robust mathematical model for expenditure and recovery of AWC is needed

Experimental Modeling of Cyclists Fatigue and Recovery Dynamics Enabling Optimal Pacing in a Time Trial

Improving a cyclist performance during a time-trial effort has been a challenge for sport scientists for several decades. There has been a lot of work on understanding the physiological concepts behind it. The concepts of Critical Power (CP) and Anaerobic Work Capacity (AWC) have been discussed often in recent cycling performance related articles. CP is a power that can be maintained by a cyclist for a long time; meaning pedaling at or below this limit, theoretically, can be continued for infinite amount of time. However, there is a limited source of energy for generating power above CP. This limited energy source is AWC. After burning energy from this tank, a cyclist can recover some by pedaling below CP. In this paper we utilize the concepts of CP and AWC to mathematically model muscle fatigue and recovery of a cyclist. Then, the models are used to formulate an optimal control problem for a time trial effort on a 10.3 km course located in Greenville SC. The course is simulated in a laboratory environment using a CompuTrainer. At the end, the optimal simulation results are compared to the performance of one subject on CompuTrainer.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Evaluation of the Emergency Response Dose Assessment System(ERDAS)

The emergency response dose assessment system (ERDAS) is a protype software and hardware system configured to produce routine mesoscale meteorological forecasts and enhanced dispersion estimates on an operational basis for the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)/Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) region. ERDAS provides emergency response guidance to operations at KSC/CCAS in the case of an accidental hazardous material release or an aborted vehicle launch. This report describes the evaluation of ERDAS including: evaluation of sea breeze predictions, comparison of launch plume location and concentration predictions, case study of a toxic release, evaluation of model sensitivity to varying input parameters, evaluation of the user interface, assessment of ERDA's operational capabilities, and a comparison of ERDAS models to the ocean breeze dry gultch diffusion model

Persistence of Pathogens with Short Infectious Periods in Seasonal Tick Populations: The Relative Importance of Three Transmission Routes

BACKGROUND: The flaviviruses causing tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) persist at low but consistent levels in tick populations, despite short infectious periods in their mammalian hosts and transmission periods constrained by distinctly seasonal tick life cycles. In addition to systemic and vertical transmission, cofeeding transmission has been proposed as an important route for the persistence of TBE-causing viruses. Because cofeeding transmission requires ticks to feed simultaneously, the timing of tick activity may be critical to pathogen persistence. Existing models of tick-borne diseases do not incorporate all transmission routes and tick seasonality. Our aim is to evaluate the influence of seasonality on the relative importance of different transmission routes by using a comprehensive mathematical model. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a stage-structured population model that includes tick seasonality and evaluated the relative importance of the transmission routes for pathogens with short infectious periods, in particular Powassan virus (POWV) and the related "deer tick virus," emergent encephalitis-causing flaviviruses in North America. We used the next generation matrix method to calculate the basic reproductive ratio and performed elasticity analyses. We confirmed that cofeeding transmission is critically important for such pathogens to persist in seasonal tick populations over the reasonable range of parameter values. At higher but still plausible rates of vertical transmission, our model suggests that vertical transmission can strongly enhance pathogen prevalence when it operates in combination with cofeeding transmission. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that the consistent prevalence of POWV observed in tick populations could be maintained by a combination of low vertical, intermediate cofeeding and high systemic transmission rates. When vertical transmission is weak, nymphal ticks support integral parts of the transmission cycle that are critical for maintaining the pathogen. We also extended the model to pathogens that cause chronic infections in hosts and found that cofeeding transmission could contribute to elevating prevalence even in these systems. Therefore, the common assumption that cofeeding transmission is not relevant in models of chronic host infection, such as Lyme disease, could lead to underestimating pathogen prevalence