Political Environment and the Adoption of Progressive Municipal Reform

Bernard, Richard M.; Rice, Bradley R.

doi:10.1177/009614427500100202

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

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“…These findings contribute to the empirical literature on US local politics. Despite Progressive Era municipal reforms that limited the influence of party machines (Bernard and Rice 1975; Bridges 1997; Anzia 2012), politics still fundamentally shapes local service provision. For example, polarized political preferences (Alesina, Baqir and Easterly 1999), the racial identities of politicians and constituents (Hajnal and Trounstine 2005), and variation in local institutions (Hajnal 2009) all influence how local governments distribute services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Elections Improve Constituency Responsiveness? Evidence from US Cities

Christensen¹,

Ejdemyr²

2018

PSRM

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Do elections motivate incumbent politicians to serve their voters? In this paper, we use millions of service requests placed by residents in US cities to measure constituency responsiveness. We then test whether an unusual policy change in New York City, which enabled city councilors to run for three rather than two terms in office, improved constituency responsiveness in previously term-limited councilors’ districts. Using difference-in-differences, we find robust evidence for this. Taking advantage of differential timing of local election races in New York City and San Francisco, we also find late-term improvements to responsiveness in districts represented by reelection-seeking incumbents. Elections improve municipal services, but also create cycles in constituency responsiveness. These findings have implications for theories of representative democracy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Elections Improve Constituency Responsiveness? Evidence from US Cities

Christensen¹,

Ejdemyr²

2018

PSRM

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“…A long list of authors have searched for evidence of the relationships between social structure and governmental form. Bernard and Rice (1975) sought evidence that social structure influenced the adoption of reform charters in the period from 1900 to 1924. Looking at the 156 cities with populations of 25,000 in 1900, Bernard and Rice found evidence supporting the predictions of the class theory.…”

Section: Social Structure and City Governmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing the Rules to Win the Game

Bridges¹,

Kronick

1999

Urban Affairs Review

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Every student of city politics knows the class theory of city government—that middle-class voters supported municipal reform and working-class voters supported machine politics. Although historical narratives support this theory, systematic evidence has been elusive. Historians and political scientists alike have recognized very strong regional differences in styles of city government but lacked an explanation. The authors argue that the class theory, historical narratives, and regional differences may be reconciled. Presence of immigrants and turnout account both for adoption or rejection of reform and for the regional pattern of those decisions.

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“…Nevertheless, as the above survey indicates, the political configurations of Sunbelt cities varied widely. There were differences in the composition and ideology of the business community (Doyle, 1990) and in political structures (Bernard & Rice, 1975). Although taxes and expenditures per capita in Southern cities tended to be lower than the nationwide averages (Rabinowitz, 1992), there were still significant differences among Southern cities in fiscal policy (Brownell, 1977;Harris, 1977;Hollingsworth & Hollingsworth, 1972;Odum, 1936;Larsen, 1985).…”

Section: Comparisons With Snowbelt Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%