Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Political Science, 2006; Rural development and transformation in post-Mao China is one of the most remarkable scenarios in transition countries. With the dismantlement of collectivized farming and the rural reforms since the late 1970s, villages have become diverse in terms of institutional structure. In some villages, one or a few cadres still dominate decision making over public affairs, while, in others, villagers actively participate in the decision making in one way or another. How do the different institutional structures of villages influence governance performance in terms of providing public goods and services? Do the villages with more peasant participation in decision making over public affairs have better performance than those with less peasant participation? This analysis is aimed at an initial answer to the questions by engaging in empirical, in-depth case studies in contemporary rural China. With the help of four Chinese scholars, I identified four villages with different institutional structures as cases for this project. I have examined and compared the four communities' governance performance in providing roads, primary schools, land allocation, and fiscal management. The findings suggest that the villages with more villager participation in decision making have better performance in providing public goods and services. The implication of the study for rural development in transition societies is to encourage peasants' participation and to draw upon their capabilities and local knowledge. The empirical data for the study rely on my field research of six months in the four communities in 2004. The methods of collecting the data include interviews with villagers and cadres as well as extensive field observations and archival research.

by Thomas U. Berger.; Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1992.; Vita.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 623-753).

This dissertation provides three novel methodologies to the field of political science. In the first chapter, I describe how to make causal inferences in the face of dynamic strategies. Traditional causal inference methods assume that these dynamic decisions are made all at once, an assumption that forces a choice between omitted variable bias and post-treatment bias. I resolve this dilemma by adapting methods from biostatistics and use these methods to estimate the effectiveness of an inherently dynamic process: a candidate's decision to "go negative." Drawing on U.S. statewide elections (2000-2006), I find, in contrast to the previous literature, that negative advertising is an effective strategy for non-incumbents. In the second chapter, I develop a method for handling measurement error. Social scientists devote considerable effort to mitigating measurement error during data collection but then ignore the issue during analysis. Although many statistical methods have been proposed for reducing measurement error-induced biases, few have been widely used because implausible assumptions, high levels of model dependence, difficult computation, or inapplicability with multiple mismeasured variables. This chapter develops an easy-to-use alternative without these problems as a special case of extreme measurement error and corrects for both. In the final chapter...

Equilibrium of the housing market depends on a complex set of interactions between: (1) individual location decisions; (2) individual housing investment; (3) collective decisions on urban growth. We embed these three elements in a model of a dynamic economy with two sources of friction: ill-de…ned property rights on future land development and uninsurable shocks a¤ecting labor productivity. We characterize the feedback between the households’ desire to invest in housing as a hedge against the risk of rent ‡uctuations and their support for supply restrictions once they own housing. The model generates an ine¢ ciently low supply of housing in equilibrium. The model also rationalizes the persistence of housing undersupply: the more restricted the initial housing supply, the smaller the city size selected by the voting process. We use the model to study the e¤ects of a number of policies and institutional changes.

One of the key goals of political economy is to understand how institutional arrangements shape policy outcomes. This paper studies a comparatively neglected aspect of this - the forces that shape heterogeneous performance of autocracies. The paper develops a simple theoretical model of accountability in the absence of regularized elections. Leadership turnover is managed by a selectorate - a group of individuals on whom the leader depends to hold onto power. Good policy is institutionalized when the selectorate removes poorly performing leaders from office. This requires that the selectorate’s hold on power is not too dependent on a specific leader being in office. The paper looks empirically at spells of autocracy to establish cases where it has been successful according to various objective criteria. We use these case studies to identify the selectorate in specific instances of successful autocracy. We also show that, consistent with the theory, leadership turnover in successful autocracies is higher than in unsuccessful autocracies. Finally, we show by exploiting leadership deaths from natural causes that successful autocracies appear to have found ways for selectorates to nominate successors without losing power - a feature which is also consistent with the theoretical approach.

Greece has been at the sharp end of the European financial crisis for many months, and faces huge difficulties in implementing the austerity measures demanded by the EU in order to ensure continued bailouts. Sofia Vasilopoulou and Daphne Halikiopoulou argue that Greece’s two party system, currently dominated by patronage and corruption, must make finding economic solutions futile. And the old Greek party system is splintering as voters grow disillusioned. So political reform is badly needed before the country’s economic recovery can begin.

Based on research with politicians from the UK, Poland and Italy, this collection of essays hopes to offer new psychological insights into what makes our leaders tick. Suitable for students of political psychology and those looking for a broad introduction to the field, Julian Kirchherr feels that the book does lack an overall coherence and many conclusions are less than ground breaking

It should be stated at the outset that the notion of Northern Ireland’s political settlement as a model for other societies evokes as much hostility as it does enthusiasm. Indeed, at least as much has been written in criticism of the idea of Northern Ireland as a model as in its support. Understanding the perspective of the critics on this issue is a useful starting point for reviewing the lessons to be learnt from the application to Northern Ireland of a variety of counter terrorism and conflict resolution policies, since it provides a means of sorting out in which respects Northern Ireland’s experience might be relevant to other cases and in which it is not.

Based on research with politicians from the UK, Poland and Italy, this collection of essays hopes to offer new psychological insights into what makes our leaders tick. Suitable for students of political psychology and those looking for a broad introduction to the field, Julian Kirchherr feels that the book does lack an overall coherence and many conclusions are less than ground breaking

Mark Blyth became the accidental star of the political blogosphere last year when he appeared in a video promoting the key message behind his upcoming book ‘Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea’. Here he explains why being unreadable helps economists get their message across, how fan and hate mail have become part of his professional life and how his latest project illustrates that there is a market for academic ideas.

As diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington thaw, pressure for reform within Cuba is mounting. While there have been immediate economic benefits for Cuba, Bert Hoffmann looks at the limits on just how far political change in the country will go and how this might affect US-Cuban relations.

Thousands of people have taken part in a series of protests in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, with protesters demanding the government’s resignation and early elections over a $1 billion bank fraud case. Daniel Brett, Ellie Knott and Mihai Popșoi outline why the protests are taking place, who the protesters are, and the likely impact on Moldovan politics. They write that while early elections may be the only option to reset the country’s politics, there are no certainties over what the long-term consequences will be for Moldova moving forward.

This book explores the use of the past in modern British politics. It examines party political perspectives on British history and the historical process, and also looks at the ways in which memory is instituted within the parties in practice, through archives, written histories and commemorations. Krista Cowman finds it to be of much interest. History, Heritage and Tradition in Contemporary British Politics: Past Politics and Present Histories. Emily Robinson. Manchester University Press. June 2012.

This edited volume examines the effectiveness with which the Cameron led coalition has adapted to the demands of government. While the main focus is on the first year in office, there are insights into why a Conservative modernisation statecraft strategy resulted in a hung Parliament and the need to form a coalition. Catherine Haddon notes the book is a reminder that much is in flux in British politics. Yet it still provides a useful anchor – both for conceptual political theory and for practical policy analysis. Cameron and the Conservatives: The Transition to Coalition Government. Timothy Heppell and David Seawright (eds.). February 2012.

Opinion Polls and the Media provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the media, opinion polls, and public opinion. The contributors explore how the media use opinion polls in a range of countries across the world, and analyses the effects and uses of opinion polls by the public as well as political actors. Reviewed by Anthony Wells. Opinion Polls and the Media. Christina Holtz-Bacha and Jesper Strömbäck (eds.) Palgrave Macmillan. April 2012.

Every political aspirant and activist knows the media are important. But there is little agreement on how an increasingly diversified media operate in post-authoritarian transitions and how they might promote, or impede, the pathways to a sustainable liberal democracy in the 21st century. This book examines the role of the media during Indonesia’s longest experiment with democratisation, addressing how the media is being transformed and what the potential impact this has for the development of democracy in Indonesia.

Local election results in the North of England have heavily favoured Labour. But as Ed Cox argues, there has also been an evident decline in the public passion for local democracy which does not bode well for future political debate.