Course PSCI 6324, Local and State Government and Politics

ProfessorRobert Lowry
Term Fall 2010
Tuesday 7-9.45 pm, Science Learning Center (formerly
Meetings
MSET) 3.102

Professor’s Contact Information

Office Phone 972-883-6720
Office Location Green Hall 3.533
Email Address robert.lowry@utdallas.edu
Office Hours Tuesday 6-7 pm; Wednesday 1:30-3:30, or by appointment.

General Course Information

The course takes a comparative approach to the study of local and state
government and politics in the United States. We will focus particularly
on areas where local and state government and politics is distinct from
Course Description
national government and politics, or where there are important differences
between different states and metropolitan areas. We will also address
intergovernmental relations and areas of public policy where state and
local governments are particularly important.

On completing this course, students should:

- Be familiar with the political science literature on local and state
government and politics in the United States.
Learning
- Understand the major variations in political behavior, organizations
Objectives/Outcomes
and institutions across state and local jurisdictions and their possible
effects.
- Be able to evaluate competing explanations for differences in policy
outputs and government performance across state and local jurisdictions.

The following books should be purchased from the campus bookstore or

your favorite alternative supplier:

Christopher R. Berry, Imperfect Union: Representation and Taxation in

Multilevel Governments. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Available October, 2009.

Virginia Gray and Russell L. Hanson, Politics in the American States: A

Required Texts & Comparative Analysis, 9th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press 2008. (Referred
Materials to in the reading assignments as “G&H.”)

J. Eric Oliver, Democracy in Suburbia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University Press 2001.

Paul E. Peterson. City Limits. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

1981.
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Additional readings are listed at the end of the syllabus and indicated in
the assignments by numbers in brackets. The list of readings may be
revised as we proceed.

Academic Calendar

Date Topics & Assignments Readings

Aug. 24 Course introduction
Aug. 31 Federalism and state context G&H ch,. 1, 2; [9]; [14], [17], [26]
Sept. 7 Parties, interest groups, and civil society G&H ch. 3,4; [1], [16], [18], [35]
Sept. 14 Direct Democracy and Election Rules G&H ch. 5; [2], [12], [21], [32]
State Legislatures G&H ch. 6; [10], [11], [20], [27],
Guest speaker: Christian Damewood, [31]
Sept. 21
District Coordinator for TX House
Rep. Angie Chen Button
State Executives and Administrative G&H ch. 7; [4], [15], [26], [28], [34]
Sept. 28 Agencies
Paper topics due
State Courts and judges; Corrections G&H ch. 8, 9; [6], [7], [8], [13]
Oct. 5
policy
Oct. 12 MIDTERM EXAM
The Scope of Local Government in a Peterson, Ch. 1-9, 11
Oct. 19
Federalist System
Oct. 26 Democracy in Suburbia Oliver, ch. 1-7
Nov. 2 More on local politics Oliver ch. 8; [5], [22], [23], [33]
Nov. 9 Special districts Berry, all
Nov. 16 STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Fiscal policy; education and public G&H ch. 10-12; [3] ;[30]
Nov. 23
welfare
Regulation and economic development G&H ch. 13, 14; [19], [24]; [29]
Nov. 30 PAPERS DUE
Take-home final distributed
Dec. 14 TAKE-HOME FINAL DUE, 7 pm
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Course Policies

Grades will be based on the following four factors, each weighted equally: (1)
class participation; (2) a midterm exam in class on October 12; (3) a 10-15
page research paper on a topic of the student’s choosing; (4) a take-home
final exam. Paper topics are due September 28. Students will make in-class
Grading
presentations of their papers-in-progress on November 16. Completed papers
Criteria
are due the last day of class, November 30. The take-home final will be
handed out then and is due December 14.

The grade for the paper project will be based on the final paper. Paper
presentations will be factored into the class participation score.

Late papers and take-home exams will be penalized 20 % for each day they
Late Work and
are late without an excuse. If for any reason you will have trouble being in
Make-up
class for the midterm exam or student presentations, notify me in advance.
Exams
Make-up midterm exams will be allowed only in the case of a documented
medical, family or work emergency.

Class Attendance is mandatory at student presentations November 16. Attendance

Attendance on other days is expected, and unexcused absences will affect your class
participation score.

Other UTD Additional UTD policies regarding student conduct and discipline, academic
Policies integrity, email use, withdrawing from class, grievance procedures,
incomplete grades, disability services, religious holy days, and resources to
help you succeed can be found at http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
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Additional Readings

In addition to the books by Gray and Hanson, Peterson, Oliver and Berry, the following
readings are also required. Unless otherwise indicated, they can be accessed by searching
for the journal title on the library’s website.

[1] John H. Aldrich. 2000. “Southern Parties in State and Nation.” The Journal of
Politics 62(August): 643-670.

[2] Stephen Ansolabehere, Alan Gerber, and James Snyder. 2002. “Equal Votes,
Equal Money: Court-Ordered Redistricting and Public Expenditures in the American
States.” American Political Science Review 96(December): 767-777.

[3] Michael A. Bailey and Mark Carl Rom. 2004. “A Wider Race? Interstate
Competition Across Health and Welfare Programs.” The Journal of Politics 66(May):
326-347.

[4] Charles Barrilleaux and Michael Berkman. 2003. “Do Governors Matter?
Budgeting Rules and the Politics of State Policymaking.” Political Research Quarterly
56:409-17.

[5] Christopher R. Berry and William G. Howell. 2007. “Accountability and Local
Elections: Rethinking Retrospective Voting.” The Journal of Politics 69(August): 844-
858.

[6] Paul Brace and Brent D. Boyea. 2008. “State Public Opinion, the Death Penalty,
and the Practice of Electing Judges.” American Political Science Review 52(April): 360-
372.

[7] Richard P. Calderone, Brandice Canes-Wrone and Tom S. Clark. 2009. “Partisan
Labels and Democratic Accountability: An Analysis of State Supreme Court Abortion
Decisions.” The Journal of Politics 71(April): 560-573.

[8] Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., Slip Op. No. 08-22 (June 8, 2009).
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08slipopinion.html

[9] Daniel J. Elazar. “The States and the Political Setting,” in American Federalism:
A View from the States 84-127. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 2d ed. 1972.
eReserve

[10] Rick Farmer and John C. Green. “Introduction: Accelerating Change with Term Limits.”
In Rick Farmer, Christopher Z. Mooney, Richard J. Powell, and John C. Green (eds.) Legislating
Without Experience: Case Studies in State Legislative Term Limits, 1-13. Lexington Books, 2007.

[11] Morris P. Fiorina. 1994. “Divided Government in the American States: A

Byproduct of Legislative Professionalism?” American Political Science Review 88(June):
304-316.
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[12] Joseph D. Giammo and Brian J . Brox. 2010. “Reducing the Costs of
Participation: Are States Getting a Return on Early Voting?” Political Research
Quarterly 63(June): 295-303.

[13] James L. Gibson. 2008. “Challenges to the Impartiality of State Supreme Courts:
Legitimacy Theory and ‘New-Style’ Judicial Campaigns.” American Political Science
Review 102(February): 59-75.

[14] Edward L. Glaeser and Bryce A. Ward. 2006. “Myths and Realities of American
Political Geography” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(Spring):119-144.

[15] Josh Goodman. 2010. “Rise of the Generals.” Governing . June, p. 30.

[16] Danny Hays and Seth C. McKee. 2008. “Toward a One-Party South?” American
Politics Research 36(January): 3-32.

[17] Rodney E. Hero and Caroline J. Tolbert. 1996. “A Racial/Ethnic Diversity

Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S.” American Journal of
Political Science 40(August):851-871.

[18] Stephen Knack. 2002. “Social Capital and the Quality of Government: Evidence
from the States.” American Journal of Political Science 46(October): 772-785.

[19] David M. Konisky. 2007. “Regulatory Competition and Environmental

Enforcement: Is there a Race to the Bottom?” American Journal of Political Science
51(October): 853-872.

[20] H.W. Jerome Maddox. 2004. “Working Outside of the State House (and Senate):
Outside Careers as Indicators of Professionalism in American State Legislatures.” State
Politics and Policy Quarterly 4(Summer): 211-226.

[21] Melissa J. Marschall, Anirudh V.S. Ruhil, and Paru R. Shah. 2010. “The New
Racial Calculus: Electoral Institutions and Black Representation in Local Legislatures.”
American Journal of Political Science 54(January): 107-124.

[22] J. Eric Oliver and Shang E. Ha. 2007. “Vote Choice in Suburban Elections.”
American Political Science Review 101(July): 393-408.

[23] Garrick L. Percival, Martin Johnson and Max Nieman. 2009. “Representation and
Local Policy: Relating County-Level Public Opinion to Policy Outputs.” Political
Research Quarterly 62(March): 164-177.

[24] Matthew Potoski. 2001. “Clean Air Federalism: Do States Race to the Bottom?”
Public Administration Review 61(May/June): 335-342.
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[25] Colin Provost. 2003. “State Attorneys General, Entrepreneurship, and Consumer
Protection in the New Federalism.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 33(Spring): 37-
53.

[26] Michael J. Rich. “The Intergovernmetnal Environment.” In John P. Pelissero (ed.)

Cities, Politcs and Policy: A Comparative Analysis. 35-67. Washington, DC: CQ Press,
2003. eReserve

[27] Alan Rosenthal. “Living With Term Limits.” In Rick Farmer, Christopher Z. Mooney,
Richard J. Powell, and John C. Green (eds.) Legislating Without Experience: Case Studies in
State Legislative Term Limits, 207-223. Lexington Books, 2007. eReserve

[28] Larry Sabato. 1983. Goodbye to Good-time Charlie: The American Governorship
Transformed, 1-20, 33-56. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2d ed. eReserve

[29] Elaine B. Sharp. Morality Politics in American Cities, 1-22. Lawrence, KS: University
Press of Kansas, 2005. eReserve

[30] Robert M. Stein. “The Politics of Revenue and Spending Policies.” In John P.
Pelissero (ed.) Cities, Politcs and Policy: A Comparative Analysis. 217-236. Washington,
DC: CQ Press, 2003. eReserve

[31] Gregory S. Thielemann and Donald R. Dixon. 1994. “Explaining Contributions:

Rational Contributors and the Elections for the 71st Texas House.” Legislative Studies
Quarterly 19(November): 495-506.

[32] Jessica Trounstine and Melody E. Valdini. 2008. “The Context Matters: The
Effects of Single-Member versus At-Large Districts on City Council Diversity.”
American Journal of Political Science 52(July): 554-569.

[33] Thad Williamson. 2008. “Sprawl, Spatial Location and Politics: How Ideological
Identification Tracks the Built Environment.” American Politics Research
36(November): 903-933.

[34] Neal D. Woods and Michael Baranowski. 2006. “Legislative Professionalism and
Influence on State Agencies: The Effects of Resources and Careerism.” Legislative Studies
Quarterly 25(November): 585-609.

[35] V.O. Key, Jr. “Nature and Consequences of One-Party Factionalism,” in Southern
Politics in State and Nation 298-311. New York: Random House 1949. eReserve