Taxation and spending on public goods, services and income transfers are among the most obvious and most frequent interactions that individual citizens have with their governments in advanced industrial countries. The variation across countries in the efforts made by governments to redistribute across different groups in society is one of the most fundamental questions of democratic capitalism. Despite a long-standing research literature, there remain important unresolved questions about how to explain such variation across countries. This dissertation presents three essays that examine possible causes of variation across countries. The first essay examines variation in preferences over government redistribution at the individual level. Using survey data from fourteen countries I show that working time has a systematic effect on preferences over redistribution: those who work longer hours prefer lower levels of government intervention. This result is robust to the inclusion of a number of controls that might undermine claims of a direct effect of hours on preferences, including measures of work ethic and attitudes towards work and rewards. The second essay examines how political participation may structure whose preferences matter in determining government redistributive policies. In a time-series cross-sectional analysis of the American states from 1978 to 2002 I employ direct measures of the income of the median voter to investigate the individual level logic underpinning expectations about the effects of inequality and turnout on spending. I find no support for the contention that turnout affects government spending via increasing the political representation of the poor. Neither is the argument that inequality leads to higher redistribution via its effects on the preferences of the median voter corroborated by the data. The third essay considers the impact of political institutions on redistributive policy outcomes by examining the asymmetric effect that multiparty competition has on the spending and revenue sides of government policy at the outset of the modern tax state. While fragmented party systems may expand spending, they tend to reduce the ability of governments to enact progressive reforms of direct taxation, thus leading to a paradoxical association between generous spending policies and regressive tax systems. Overall, the dissertation highlights how particular economic and political structures impact types and levels of redistribution across political jurisdictions in ways which have not previously been examined.
Archive for the ‘Sociology’ Category:
Three essays on property taxation, income taxation, and vertical integration
In the first chapter I study the effect of Proposition 13 on household mobility. Proposition 13, approved in California in 1978, limits the annual increase in property taxes for households staying in their homes. Because this is an annual limit, the annual tax savings increase over time. On moving, a household loses this favorable tax treatment. I estimate the extent to which these tax savings reduce household mobility. The study contributes to previous studies because: 1) I use a duration model to describe the decision to stay in ones home, and 2) I correct for a series of data imperfections. My analysis finds that the hazard rate of duration decreases by 3.6% for each $100 of annual taxes which are saved if the household stays in his home. In the second chapter I derive the optimal income tax schedule on imperfect labor markets with search. In the search framework workers and vacancies decide how intensively to search for partners, and whether to match with a potential partner when they meet one. Externalities created by workers and vacancies, in their choice of how intensively to search, create frictions on the labor market. This leads to suboptimal matches between workers and vacancies, and as a result suboptimal levels of output. I characterize the optimal income tax system, designed to both control for externalities and raise positive government revenue. In the third chapter I study the incentives of competing retailers to sign exclusive contracts for the provision of credit card services. In my model both the upstream market of credit card provision and the downstream retail market are competitive. All players on the market—credit card providers, merchants, and consumers/cardholders—act strategically. I find that exclusive contracts increase the perceived by consumers differentiation between retailers, and merchants profits. Exclusive contracts, however, are only feasible if a merchant can credibly threaten to expand into the credit card industry.
Essays on child mortality and growth faltering in Bangladesh and Kenya
Using survey data from Bangladesh and Kenya with economic status measured by a wealth index and with three different geographic definitions of community, I analyze six competing hypotheses for how economic inequality may affect child stunting. I find little support for the predominant hypothesis that economic inequality as measured by a Gini index is an important predictor of individual health. Instead, I find that the difference between a households wealth and the mean household wealth in the households community is the measure of economic inequality that is most related to stunting in these countries. Using the same survey data, I then analyze general mechanisms and specific mediating factors that may explain the negative relationship between community-relative household wealth and child stunting. Of the two most prominent mechanisms in the literature, I find support for a neomaterial mechanism in both countries, but find no support for a psychosocial mechanism in either country. However, a group of maternal and family planning factors constitutes the most important mechanism in both countries； the most important individual mediators include the mothers BMI, the number of persons per sleeping room, the quality of the mothers prenatal and delivery care, the childs birth order, and, in Kenya, the childs use of a bednet. Finally, I consider young childrens right to health under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the CRC recognizes rights corresponding to almost all of the factors that cause child mortality and growth faltering, its effectiveness has been reduced by substantive limitations on those rights, procedural limitations in enforcing those rights, and an inefficient state party reporting process. In particular, Kenyas few successes in realizing those rights all occurred recently and mainly involved societal factors, which have not yet produced improvements in childrens right to health. By contrast, Bangladesh achieved earlier successes that primarily involved household and proximate factors and has experienced significant decreases in child mortality and growth faltering rates. UN initiatives to amend the CRC by adding a complaints mechanism and to improve the reporting process may not significantly improve the CRCs effectiveness in promoting young childrens right to health.
Network diversity value and local South African entrepreneurial development in a globalizing economy: A grounded theory analysis
Studies of African development convey both the triumphs and struggles in achieving the viability of local, small economic actors within a heightened era of global integration. Theoretical studies examining the role of social capital in economic development suggest that understanding the broader context of social relationships within which the market operates is vital in understanding market behavior. Hence, this perspective presents a distinct approach by which to grasp how small business men and women in globalizing African economies socially position themselves to manage and thrive under market pressures on all spatial levels. Drawing from this literature, this investigation explores how the social structure — specifically, the diversity of relationships in the social networks –of local South African entrepreneurs contributes to the development of their small businesses. Employing the qualitative analytical methodology of grounded theory, data is generated via in-depth interviews of twenty-four entrepreneurs from the clothing manufacturing and service industries in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. Empirical research in this regard is growing but is still limited. Hence, grounded theory- as other qualitative methodologies — captures the nuances and cultural interpretations vital to comprehending the social structure of the local economy. Distinct from other qualitative methodologies, however, grounded theory derives relationships between prevailing conceptual themes so as to form a testable framework for an emerging theory drawn directly from the data. The findings reveal, and form the first two hypotheses, that the structure and value of social network diversity vary across entrepreneurs of different economic sectors. To gain more empirical insight regarding network diversity variation, the study presents the analysis of particular variables — highlighted by the data and literature — in relation to entrepreneurs social networks. Clothing manufacturers emphasis of international trade as a threat forms the third hypothesis that their vulnerability to cheaper garment imports may be an explanatory factor for the structural and value differences of their networks diversity from those of service entrepreneurs. Recognizing that vulnerability to global imports does not fully account for the variation of network diversity among entrepreneurs within the same sector, however, continued analysis focused on the potential explanatory value of an entrepreneurs business phase and firm size. Findings supported the formation of the fourth and fifth hypotheses, which state that network diversity varies across entrepreneurs within different business phases in both sectors, and inconclusively across small firms of different sizes. The analysis notes that variation across firm size may be a function of business phase. At the end, the study lays out an emerging theoretical framework for the central concept of network diversity value, presenting the prevailing hypotheses and conceptual relationships to be tested in further studies.
Network dynamics in small business financing: Institutional changes and transformations of inter-organizational relations
A central insight in economic sociology is that firms depend on relationships with other organizations for their access to capital, information, and other resources. Such interactions among firms tend to develop into stable networks of social and economic exchange that stratify fines in an industry. My dissertation contributes to our understanding of emergent industry structures by explaining how firms build their networks during the early history of a new sector. First, I propose that firms in young industries are exposed to multiple institutional pressures from professional groups, policy makers, neighboring industries, and trade associations. Second, I argue that institutional pressures shape firms’ collaborative strategies. Finally, I claim that firms are not uniformly affected by institutional pressures, since they typically differ in their exposure to different collaborative practices and beliefs. I find empirical support for these claims in a multi-method study of the U.S. venture capital industry during its formative years 19651988. The empirical results highlight that a young industry can develop along many different trajectories. Understanding how firms historically were affected by different institutional pressures is crucial for explaining contemporary industry structures and business practices.
Aging legibly: policy and practice among non-profit professionals
In this study I utilize ethnographic research to explore how professionals working within non-profit organizations in the field of aging implement and navigate shifts in old age policy. I consider how these shifts are informed by changes in the political economy as well as the construction of knowledge about older adults through mainstream gerontology and the media. I explore how groups, such as older adults and caregivers, are produced and reproduced through policy, defined both as an exercise of power and the everyday practice of practitioners. This study is based on a combination of methods, including a year of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of an elder advocacy organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Participant observation took place primarily in the offices of this organization. I attended meetings and events in other locations in Philadelphia, which usually dealt with other non-profit or government groups. Thirteen interviews with staff members at this organization, as well as with individuals in additional organizations in the field of aging, provided insight into the constraints and opportunities created by federal and state aging policy for those that work “on the ground.” The interviews explored the goals of these programs, organizational understanding of the target population, and external factors that affect the trajectory of these programs. I argue that, 1) aging is increasingly depoliticized through the concept of “successful aging,” which professionals alternately reproduce and resist； 2) this process facilitates the roll-back of social welfare programs, and； 3) that this “aging system” creates constraints and contradictions for those who work within it, which are rooted in the effort to simplify and define population groups or make them “legible,” in order to utilize government and private resources.
Lack of oversight: The relationship between Congress and the FBI, 1907–1975
This study fills a hole left in research about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While previous authors have examined the Bureaus relationship to the executive branch, especially under its long-time Director, J. Edgar Hoover, comparatively little has been written about the Bureaus relationship with the United States Congress. Using their investigatory and appropriations powers, members of Congress could have maintained stringent oversight of Bureau officials activities. Instead, members of Congress either deferred to the executive branch, especially presidents and attorneys general, or developed close relationships with Bureau officials based on a shared politics, mainly anti-communism during the Cold War. Examining the relationship from 1907 through 1975 offers numerous examples of members of Congress looking beyond their oversight responsibilities. Even as Congress investigated Bureau actions, no meaningful legislation was passed limiting Bureau activities. Instead, members of Congress left it to the executive branch to correct problems. On issues like wiretapping, Bureau officials either misled Congress about the extent of their activities or ignored Congressional mandates in order to continue their anti-communist agenda. As the Cold War developed, certain Congressional committees began to use Bureau files confidentially in order to educate the public on the dangers of communism. While Bureau officials initially supported such liaison relationships, they were based on the source of the committees information never coming to light. Once that condition was violated, Bureau officials terminated the relationship, hampering the committees ability to use the communist issue to further political careers. To fully understand the FBIs role in 20th-century America, the relationship with Congress must be further explored. Focusing solely on Director Hoover or the executive branch is too narrow. Members of Congress had equal opportunity to oversee Bureau activities. That they did not fulfill this responsibility portrays the difficulty Americans have in containing the actions of investigatory agencies.
Perceptions and attitudes toward violence against wives in West Java, Indonesia
This study explored factors contributing to Indonesians perceptions and attitudes toward violence against wives. A total of 181 individuals 91 males and 90 females) living in rural and urban households in Kota Bandung Bandung City) and Kabupaten Bandung Bandung Regency), West Java Province, Indonesia that were listed in the 2009 National Social Economic Survey were randomly selected. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews with open-ended and closed-ended questions. The majority of Indonesians in this study were aware of the existence of violence against wives in society. Respondents tended to define violence against wives in physical terms. They inclined to justify a husband hitting his wife when she was perceived to deviate from traditional gender roles as a wife or mother. The findings indicated prevalent victim-blaming attitudes. The participants also tended to express ambivalent attitudes between protecting the victims and punishing the abusive husbands. In addition, Indonesians in this study reported preference for informal mechanisms in dealing with violence against wives. Feminist and socio-demographic perspectives that were used to generate hypotheses were partially supported. Attitudes toward gender roles, location of residence, and marital status were among the most common variables significantly associated with the definitions, contextual justification, and responses to violence against wives. Findings were discussed in the light of a socio-cultural context. The studys results posed some implications for social welfare practice, policy and research.
Fictional Citizenship: A Genealogy of the Social Construction of the Black Male and the Penal Process in the U.S., 1790–1930
This dissertation examines the historical process of racially constructing and criminalizing black males in the United States. More specifically, the dissertation explores how marginalizing and subordinating narratives are generated and informed by various intersecting and stratifying ideologies that, in turn, become institutionally reified, enshrined, and transmitted throughout the culture. This invisible/seamless process has contributed to the economic, social, and political disempowerment of the black male subject long after he returns to his community after incarceration. The study conducts an historical genealogy of black male racial construction, ideological narrative, and the penal process in the United States between 1790–1930, examining changes in corrections ideology, and highlighting evolving representations of criminality and its effects on popular perspectives concerning black male citizenship.
Stress mediates sleep problems: Families of children with and without autism
The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD) is approaching epidemic proportions in the U.S. However, research has inadequately described how a family of a child with ASD functions as a system. Therefore, the hypothesized model examined the predictors of family functioning. A structural equation modeling SEM) approach was used to explore the relationship between childrens sleep problems and family functioning and the extent to which this relationship may be mediated by maternal stress. The model evaluated the strength of a direct relationship between childrens sleep problems and family functioning, as well as an indirect relationship that was mediated by maternal stress. Additionally the two groups, mothers of children with ASD ASD group) and mothers of typically developing children Community group), were analyzed to explore group differences. In both groups, maternal stress was predicted by childrens sleep: as mothers reported that their children exhibited more sleep problems, mothers reports of their stress levels also increased. Maternal stress was also predictive of family functioning. Specifically, there was a decrease in positive family functioning when mothers stress levels increased. Maternal stress mediated the relationship between childrens sleep problems and family functioning. Furthermore, the mediating relationship was stronger in the Community group than in the ASD group. The difference between groups may indicate that mothers of children with ASD are experiencing stress from multiple sources, aside from sleep problems, which may be contributing to their overall stress levels. Overall, findings suggested that childrens sleep problems contributed to the mothers stress levels and also to the overall family functioning. Future research should be designed to further explore families within a contextual framework and use a methodological approach that includes multiple measures of parent and family functioning and of childrens behaviors. In this way, a more comprehensive picture of families of children with ASDs can be developed that will inform the development of empirically based treatment approaches.