No abstract

The inter-group contact hypothesis states that intera ctions between individuals belonging to different groups will influence the attitudes and behavior between members of these different groups. The two dominant measures of inter-group contact are context (i.e., size of a minority group within a specified geographic area) and individual behavior (i.e., personal contact between members of the majority and minority groups). The contextual and behavioral measures of contact produce divergent finings. The contextual contact literature finds that whites residing in areas with high concentrations of minority populations have significantly more negative attitudes toward minorities and minority-based public policies than whites residing in areas with low concentrations of minority poplations. The behavioral contact literature finds that inter-group contacing among majority and minority populations significantly reduces preudicial attitudes and opinions about minorities and minority-based policies. In this article we examine both contextual and behavioral meaures of the contact hypothesis as they influence white attitudes toward immigrant populations (i.e., Hispanics) and white policy positions toward immigration policies. We offer and test an explanation for the lierature's divergent findings.

Previous research finds that central-city and suburban indicators of economic development are strongly related. Missing from previous research, however, is an empirical test of the expected relationship between urban-suburban economic dependence and the structure of metropolitan-area governance. In addition, the impact of the state economy on this relationship has not been fully examined. The authors replicate previous research that demonstrates a relationship between the change in central-city and suburban per capita income. Then they test whether this relationship is solely a function of the state economy and if it is affected by the structure of metropolitan-area governance. 46

The authors use an informational-theoretical perspective to examine the appointment of legislative committees, using new measures of knowledge and expertise as well as a unique database. While competing theories (distributive and partisan) do not deny that legislative committees are a source of vital knowledge and expertise necessary for legislative policy making, information theory places the wisdom and expertise needs of collective decision making—that is, specialization—on very complex topics by legislative generalists as the raison d'être for a committee system. Thus, the authors investigate one of the fundamental arguments of information theory—that committees are formed to meet the basic knowledge and expertise needs of a legislative body. The findings from U.S. state legislative data indicate that significant member differences regarding prior knowledge and expertise exist by committee jurisdiction, state, and session, reinforcing the applicability of information theory while also suggesting the impact of setting and organizational factors. The authors also explore implications of these findings.

Recent research suggests that over time the performance of minority officeholders rivals racebased attitudes and group membership as the primary determinant of citizen evaluations of minority officeholders. Here, we examine the determinants of electoral support for an AfricanAmerican mayor in a multiracial/multiethnic venue. We test alternative explanations (race, social distance, and performance-based models) of voter support for an African-American mayor in a setting where no ethnic or racial group represents more than half the electorate. Our findings indicate that approval ratings coexist with racial-group identification as a determinant of voter support for minority mayors, with one important caveat. Racial voting appears to be more influential in minority candidates' first electoral bids. While race strongly influences voter support for minority mayors during their initial run for office, job approval becomes more important when the minority candidate runs for reelection.The rate at which non-Anglo candidates have succeeded at the ballot box continues to increase. Some communities have more than 20 years of experience with African-American mayors, council members, and state and congressional representatives. More importantly, minority candidates are increasingly winning elections in districts and communities where minority voters are not a majority of the electorate, a fact especially important in a nation trending toward a demographic distribution in which Anglos consti-157