Revista Mexicana de Análisis Político y Administración Pública
Este artículo evalúa la relación entre el miedo al delito y las demandas por castigos más severos... more Este artículo evalúa la relación entre el miedo al delito y las demandas por castigos más severos en contra de los acusados de actividad delictiva. Consideramos dos tipos de miedo al delito: 1) el miedo a los asaltos y robos; y 2) el temor al asesinato. Lo que caracteriza al miedo al delito es el sentimiento de vulnerabilidad en los ciudadanos por ser incapaces de protegerse a sí mismos.
This article explains why there is important variation in the degree of concentration of legislat... more This article explains why there is important variation in the degree of concentration of legislative specialization across legislative parties. Greater concentration of legislative specialization leads parties to concentrate their legislative efforts on a smaller set of policy jurisdictions. Through enhancing their concentration of legislative specialization in certain policy areas, parties might more clearly signal their policy concerns and interests to voters. This study argues and shows that party size alters the concentration of legislative specialization. In particular, I find that a U-shaped curve defines the relationship between party size and the degree of concentration of legislative specialization: niche parties and the largest parties choose higher levels of concentration of legislative specialization.
Although numerous scholars have analyzed the effects of natural resource extraction at the nation... more Although numerous scholars have analyzed the effects of natural resource extraction at the national level, few have explored it systematically at the local level. Focusing on Peru, where both mining production and local social protests have greatly increased in recent years and where a new tax has required mining companies to transfer revenue to subnational governments, this study explores the resource curse at the local level. In particular, why do protests arise mostly in the areas of natural resource extraction? Employing subnational data for Peru for the period 2004–9 and LAPOP survey data from 2010, the research confirms previous findings that social conflict is provoked by both the negative externalities of mining and the revenues from the new tax. The article further demonstrates that local bureaucratic capacity is a significant independent variable. Greater subnational bureaucratic capacity can ameliorate the pernicious societal effects of a local resource curse.
This article investigates the relationship between levels of party institutionalization and indiv... more This article investigates the relationship between levels of party institutionalization and individual-level partisan mobilization. Levels of party institutionalization have been linked to macro-level outcomes such as party system stability, but little is known about the micro-level underpinnings of such patterns. This article investigates one set of mechanisms through which party institutionalization might affect electoral outcomes. Specifically, we ask how routinization and value infusion – two central dimensions of party institutionalization – shape partisans’ political mobilization. We investigate these relationships by matching data on individual-level behaviour (taken from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2014 wave) with data on party attributes commonly associated with levels of institutionalization (taken from the Democratic Accountability and Linkages Project – DALP). We find that while value infusion encourages relatively greater participation from non-member supporters, party routinization depresses non-member participation but may mobilize otherwise inactive members. These findings suggest that to understand the effects of party institutionalization on a macro-level phenomenon such as electoral volatility, it may be necessary to study how parties institutionalize, rather than just asking how much they institutionalize.
Studies in Comparative International Development, Apr 27, 2013
ABSTRACT In the last 15 years, considerable efforts have been directed towards understanding how ... more ABSTRACT In the last 15 years, considerable efforts have been directed towards understanding how currency shocks affect the clout of economic actors. Little research, however, has studied how currency shocks affect the salience of key economic actors and their organizations among the public. In this article, we test for the effect of currency shock on the media salience and legislative importance of economic actors. We use a novel empirical design that (1) measures the level of media salience of 23 Labor, Rural, Business, and Financial Associations and (2) measures the targets of legislation initiated in key Congressional committees. Results show that currency shocks have moderate effects on the media salience of economic actors and more pronounced policy consequences, reflected on the legislative importance of key economic jurisdictions in Congress.
This paper sheds light on possible explanations for the success and sustainability of the piquete... more This paper sheds light on possible explanations for the success and sustainability of the piqueteros social movement in Argentina, developed from a comparative perspective based on Latin America. I show which institutional arrangements, political actors, and configurations of power contributed to the success of the piqueteros. Applying the basic principles of the rational choice approach, I find that the success of the piqueteros movement was produced by the current political division in the ruling party (the Peronist party), by the over-regulated Argentine labor market, and by the impact of the Argentine economic crisis through the unemployment rates.
This paper sheds lights the on the performance of Latin American governments in attracting foreig... more This paper sheds lights the on the performance of Latin American governments in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) through trade policies, specifically by signing free trade agreements with other countries. The relationship between FDI and trade for Latin America has previously been analyzed. In these studies, the relationship between the degree of "openness" (imports plus exports divided by the domestic product) and FDI has not been conclusive. At the same time, the effect of specific trade policies on FDI flows has not been extensively studied. Some state policies on trade could produce a significant impact in attracting FDI. Specifically, through the implementation of several free trade agreements, several Latin American countries have been able to attract greater flows of foreign direct investment. The implementation of these free trade agreements was part of a more general plan of economic reforms that Latin American countries launched since the mid-1980s. The goals of these reforms were to adjust their economies and improve their competitiveness by liberalizing trade, privatizing, and deregulating their markets. Those countries that signed more free trade agreements-or signed them with the largest economies in the world-increased their effectiveness in attracting FDI. I test the impact of this policy on the behavior of FDI flows through a panel data model for seventeen Latin American countries and for the period ranging from 1985 to 2003.
This article extends the analysis of political parties in electorally volatile and organizational... more This article extends the analysis of political parties in electorally volatile and organizationally weak party systems by evaluating two implications centered on legislative voting behavior. First, it examines whether disunity prevails where weakness of programmatic and electoral commonalities abound. Second, it analyzes whether inchoate party systems weaken the ability of government parties to control the congressional agenda. The empirical analysis centers on Peru, a classic example of a weakly institutionalized party system, and how its legislative parties compare to those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the United States. The results lend support to the view that lower unity characterizes weakly institutionalized settings. The agenda-setting power of government parties, however, appears to be influenced more by the majority status of the government than by the level of party system institutionalization.
Political economists have argued that the design of political institutions bears important conseq... more Political economists have argued that the design of political institutions bears important consequences for the quality of public policy, especially in areas like the privatization and regulation of utilities. Our study looks at how variations in key institutional traits of executive and legislative branches (specifically presidents' legislative powers, presidents' prerogatives to designate the director of the regulatory agency, and legislative fragmentation) affect investment in Latin American telecommunications, a critical sector for economic development. Institutional factors influence how easily executives and important political (legislative) parties can alter policies related to the telecommunications sector. We find that resolute institutional designs foster investment in the sector, but only under private ownership. For state‐owned firms, decisive institutional designs have better effects on investment.Related ArticlesMontes de Oca Barrera, and Laura Beatriz. 2019. “Persistent Exclusion in Mexico: Regulatory Governance as an Imperfect Project of Political Modernization.” Politics & Policy 47 (1): 127‐151. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12291Moreno, Erika, and Richard C. Witmer. 2015. “Where Capacity and Incentives Meet: Presidential Decree Authority and Property Rights in Latin America.” Politics & Policy 43 (3): 315‐346. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12118Wise, Carol, and Cintia Quiliconi. 2007. “China's Surge in Latin American Markets: Policy Challenges and Responses.” Politics & Policy 35 (3): 410‐438. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2007.00067.x
Revista SAAP: Sociedad Argentina de Análisis Político, 2018
La política del gasto público estatal en México: el rol de la fragmentación legislativa y del gob... more La política del gasto público estatal en México: el rol de la fragmentación legislativa y del gobierno dividido* The politics of state public expenditures in Mexico: The role of legislative
Although several previous studies have advanced the knowledge of how violence perpetrated by DTOs... more Although several previous studies have advanced the knowledge of how violence perpetrated by DTOs affects electoral outcomes, the study of how levels of criminal violence vary during local electoral contests remains scant. Stated differently, we know little on whether the local electoral cycle has an effect on the level of criminal violence. Employing the CIDE-PPD Database, we find that local elections do have an effect on levels of DTOs violence and that the greatest incentives to upscale violence occur shortly before election day. These fluctuations suggest that DTOs are actively seeking to influence local governance in their favor especially during the campaigns. Our analysis also suggests that candidates in local Mexican elections face a more precarious and dangerous situation compared to recently-elected authorities.
Recent literature has analyzed the relationship between governmental corruption and political beh... more Recent literature has analyzed the relationship between governmental corruption and political behavior, focusing on voting turnout (Stockemer, LaMontagne and Scruggs 2012). Fewer studies have examined the impact of corruption on non-electoral political participation. This article fills this gap by examining how non-electoral political participation is influenced by corruption within one of the most important institutions dealing with citizens' welfare and safety: the police. We focus our research on Mexico because the effects of police corruption have been increasingly felt in the country in recent decades. We find that experiences of police corruption raise the likelihood of taking the streets to protest. Interestingly, we also find that corruption experiences specifically with police bureaucracies lead to greater likelihood of non-electoral participation through institutional channels. We also report that the combination of police corruption and violent crime alienates citizen...
Supplemental Material, pp-2013-0140-Appendix for Which members? Using cross-national surveys to s... more Supplemental Material, pp-2013-0140-Appendix for Which members? Using cross-national surveys to study party membership by Aldo F Ponce, and Susan E Scarrow in Party Politics
espanolEste artfculo examina par que y en que medida el antagonisrrw que existe entre, par un lad... more espanolEste artfculo examina par que y en que medida el antagonisrrw que existe entre, par un lado, el Ejecutivo estatal y la oposicifm (la presencia de una mayoria de asientos del partido que controla el Ejecutivo estatal) y, por el otro, la fragmentacion de intereses partidarios (fragmentacion legislativa), altera la magnitud del gasto estatal en Mexico. Este estudio sostiene y muestra que la presencia de gobierno dividido en el gobierno estatal (minoria del partido del gobernador en la legislatura estatal) y el grado de fragmentacion legislativa afectan el gasto publico estatal. Tambien comprobarrws que parte del impacto de cualquiera de estos dos factores sobre el gasto publico estatal esta condicionado al efecto del otro factor. Al respedo, verificarrws que existe un efecto condicionado estadisticamente significativo. Dicho de otra manera, una mayor fragmentacion legislativa eleva los gastos cuando el partido del gobernador no posee la mayoria de asientos en la legislatura esta...
Revista Mexicana de Análisis Político y Administración Pública
Este artículo evalúa la relación entre el miedo al delito y las demandas por castigos más severos... more Este artículo evalúa la relación entre el miedo al delito y las demandas por castigos más severos en contra de los acusados de actividad delictiva. Consideramos dos tipos de miedo al delito: 1) el miedo a los asaltos y robos; y 2) el temor al asesinato. Lo que caracteriza al miedo al delito es el sentimiento de vulnerabilidad en los ciudadanos por ser incapaces de protegerse a sí mismos.
This article explains why there is important variation in the degree of concentration of legislat... more This article explains why there is important variation in the degree of concentration of legislative specialization across legislative parties. Greater concentration of legislative specialization leads parties to concentrate their legislative efforts on a smaller set of policy jurisdictions. Through enhancing their concentration of legislative specialization in certain policy areas, parties might more clearly signal their policy concerns and interests to voters. This study argues and shows that party size alters the concentration of legislative specialization. In particular, I find that a U-shaped curve defines the relationship between party size and the degree of concentration of legislative specialization: niche parties and the largest parties choose higher levels of concentration of legislative specialization.
Although numerous scholars have analyzed the effects of natural resource extraction at the nation... more Although numerous scholars have analyzed the effects of natural resource extraction at the national level, few have explored it systematically at the local level. Focusing on Peru, where both mining production and local social protests have greatly increased in recent years and where a new tax has required mining companies to transfer revenue to subnational governments, this study explores the resource curse at the local level. In particular, why do protests arise mostly in the areas of natural resource extraction? Employing subnational data for Peru for the period 2004–9 and LAPOP survey data from 2010, the research confirms previous findings that social conflict is provoked by both the negative externalities of mining and the revenues from the new tax. The article further demonstrates that local bureaucratic capacity is a significant independent variable. Greater subnational bureaucratic capacity can ameliorate the pernicious societal effects of a local resource curse.
This article investigates the relationship between levels of party institutionalization and indiv... more This article investigates the relationship between levels of party institutionalization and individual-level partisan mobilization. Levels of party institutionalization have been linked to macro-level outcomes such as party system stability, but little is known about the micro-level underpinnings of such patterns. This article investigates one set of mechanisms through which party institutionalization might affect electoral outcomes. Specifically, we ask how routinization and value infusion – two central dimensions of party institutionalization – shape partisans’ political mobilization. We investigate these relationships by matching data on individual-level behaviour (taken from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2014 wave) with data on party attributes commonly associated with levels of institutionalization (taken from the Democratic Accountability and Linkages Project – DALP). We find that while value infusion encourages relatively greater participation from non-member supporters, party routinization depresses non-member participation but may mobilize otherwise inactive members. These findings suggest that to understand the effects of party institutionalization on a macro-level phenomenon such as electoral volatility, it may be necessary to study how parties institutionalize, rather than just asking how much they institutionalize.
Studies in Comparative International Development, Apr 27, 2013
ABSTRACT In the last 15 years, considerable efforts have been directed towards understanding how ... more ABSTRACT In the last 15 years, considerable efforts have been directed towards understanding how currency shocks affect the clout of economic actors. Little research, however, has studied how currency shocks affect the salience of key economic actors and their organizations among the public. In this article, we test for the effect of currency shock on the media salience and legislative importance of economic actors. We use a novel empirical design that (1) measures the level of media salience of 23 Labor, Rural, Business, and Financial Associations and (2) measures the targets of legislation initiated in key Congressional committees. Results show that currency shocks have moderate effects on the media salience of economic actors and more pronounced policy consequences, reflected on the legislative importance of key economic jurisdictions in Congress.
This paper sheds light on possible explanations for the success and sustainability of the piquete... more This paper sheds light on possible explanations for the success and sustainability of the piqueteros social movement in Argentina, developed from a comparative perspective based on Latin America. I show which institutional arrangements, political actors, and configurations of power contributed to the success of the piqueteros. Applying the basic principles of the rational choice approach, I find that the success of the piqueteros movement was produced by the current political division in the ruling party (the Peronist party), by the over-regulated Argentine labor market, and by the impact of the Argentine economic crisis through the unemployment rates.
This paper sheds lights the on the performance of Latin American governments in attracting foreig... more This paper sheds lights the on the performance of Latin American governments in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) through trade policies, specifically by signing free trade agreements with other countries. The relationship between FDI and trade for Latin America has previously been analyzed. In these studies, the relationship between the degree of "openness" (imports plus exports divided by the domestic product) and FDI has not been conclusive. At the same time, the effect of specific trade policies on FDI flows has not been extensively studied. Some state policies on trade could produce a significant impact in attracting FDI. Specifically, through the implementation of several free trade agreements, several Latin American countries have been able to attract greater flows of foreign direct investment. The implementation of these free trade agreements was part of a more general plan of economic reforms that Latin American countries launched since the mid-1980s. The goals of these reforms were to adjust their economies and improve their competitiveness by liberalizing trade, privatizing, and deregulating their markets. Those countries that signed more free trade agreements-or signed them with the largest economies in the world-increased their effectiveness in attracting FDI. I test the impact of this policy on the behavior of FDI flows through a panel data model for seventeen Latin American countries and for the period ranging from 1985 to 2003.
This article extends the analysis of political parties in electorally volatile and organizational... more This article extends the analysis of political parties in electorally volatile and organizationally weak party systems by evaluating two implications centered on legislative voting behavior. First, it examines whether disunity prevails where weakness of programmatic and electoral commonalities abound. Second, it analyzes whether inchoate party systems weaken the ability of government parties to control the congressional agenda. The empirical analysis centers on Peru, a classic example of a weakly institutionalized party system, and how its legislative parties compare to those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the United States. The results lend support to the view that lower unity characterizes weakly institutionalized settings. The agenda-setting power of government parties, however, appears to be influenced more by the majority status of the government than by the level of party system institutionalization.
Political economists have argued that the design of political institutions bears important conseq... more Political economists have argued that the design of political institutions bears important consequences for the quality of public policy, especially in areas like the privatization and regulation of utilities. Our study looks at how variations in key institutional traits of executive and legislative branches (specifically presidents' legislative powers, presidents' prerogatives to designate the director of the regulatory agency, and legislative fragmentation) affect investment in Latin American telecommunications, a critical sector for economic development. Institutional factors influence how easily executives and important political (legislative) parties can alter policies related to the telecommunications sector. We find that resolute institutional designs foster investment in the sector, but only under private ownership. For state‐owned firms, decisive institutional designs have better effects on investment.Related ArticlesMontes de Oca Barrera, and Laura Beatriz. 2019. “Persistent Exclusion in Mexico: Regulatory Governance as an Imperfect Project of Political Modernization.” Politics & Policy 47 (1): 127‐151. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12291Moreno, Erika, and Richard C. Witmer. 2015. “Where Capacity and Incentives Meet: Presidential Decree Authority and Property Rights in Latin America.” Politics & Policy 43 (3): 315‐346. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12118Wise, Carol, and Cintia Quiliconi. 2007. “China's Surge in Latin American Markets: Policy Challenges and Responses.” Politics & Policy 35 (3): 410‐438. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2007.00067.x
Revista SAAP: Sociedad Argentina de Análisis Político, 2018
La política del gasto público estatal en México: el rol de la fragmentación legislativa y del gob... more La política del gasto público estatal en México: el rol de la fragmentación legislativa y del gobierno dividido* The politics of state public expenditures in Mexico: The role of legislative
Although several previous studies have advanced the knowledge of how violence perpetrated by DTOs... more Although several previous studies have advanced the knowledge of how violence perpetrated by DTOs affects electoral outcomes, the study of how levels of criminal violence vary during local electoral contests remains scant. Stated differently, we know little on whether the local electoral cycle has an effect on the level of criminal violence. Employing the CIDE-PPD Database, we find that local elections do have an effect on levels of DTOs violence and that the greatest incentives to upscale violence occur shortly before election day. These fluctuations suggest that DTOs are actively seeking to influence local governance in their favor especially during the campaigns. Our analysis also suggests that candidates in local Mexican elections face a more precarious and dangerous situation compared to recently-elected authorities.
Recent literature has analyzed the relationship between governmental corruption and political beh... more Recent literature has analyzed the relationship between governmental corruption and political behavior, focusing on voting turnout (Stockemer, LaMontagne and Scruggs 2012). Fewer studies have examined the impact of corruption on non-electoral political participation. This article fills this gap by examining how non-electoral political participation is influenced by corruption within one of the most important institutions dealing with citizens' welfare and safety: the police. We focus our research on Mexico because the effects of police corruption have been increasingly felt in the country in recent decades. We find that experiences of police corruption raise the likelihood of taking the streets to protest. Interestingly, we also find that corruption experiences specifically with police bureaucracies lead to greater likelihood of non-electoral participation through institutional channels. We also report that the combination of police corruption and violent crime alienates citizen...
Supplemental Material, pp-2013-0140-Appendix for Which members? Using cross-national surveys to s... more Supplemental Material, pp-2013-0140-Appendix for Which members? Using cross-national surveys to study party membership by Aldo F Ponce, and Susan E Scarrow in Party Politics
espanolEste artfculo examina par que y en que medida el antagonisrrw que existe entre, par un lad... more espanolEste artfculo examina par que y en que medida el antagonisrrw que existe entre, par un lado, el Ejecutivo estatal y la oposicifm (la presencia de una mayoria de asientos del partido que controla el Ejecutivo estatal) y, por el otro, la fragmentacion de intereses partidarios (fragmentacion legislativa), altera la magnitud del gasto estatal en Mexico. Este estudio sostiene y muestra que la presencia de gobierno dividido en el gobierno estatal (minoria del partido del gobernador en la legislatura estatal) y el grado de fragmentacion legislativa afectan el gasto publico estatal. Tambien comprobarrws que parte del impacto de cualquiera de estos dos factores sobre el gasto publico estatal esta condicionado al efecto del otro factor. Al respedo, verificarrws que existe un efecto condicionado estadisticamente significativo. Dicho de otra manera, una mayor fragmentacion legislativa eleva los gastos cuando el partido del gobernador no posee la mayoria de asientos en la legislatura esta...
This book is a collection of studies of drug policies in several Latin American countries. The ch... more This book is a collection of studies of drug policies in several Latin American countries. The chapters analyze the specific histories of drug policies in each country, as well as related phenomena and case studies throughout the region. It presents conceptual reflections on the origins of prohibition and the “War on Drugs,” including the topic of human rights and cognitive freedom. Further, the collection reflects on the pioneering role of some Latin American countries in changing paradigms of international drug policy. Each case study provides an analysis of where each state is now in terms of policy reform within the context of its history and current socio-political circumstances. Concurrently, local movements, initiatives, and backlash against the reformist debate within the hemisphere are examined. The recent changes regarding the regulation of marijuana in the United States and their possible impact on Latin America are also addressed. This work is an important, up-to-date and well-researched reference for all who are interested in drug policy from a Latin American perspective.
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