.
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
"Restoring Trust in the Police: Why Female Officers Reduce Suspicions of Corruption." Governance 31 (1): 143-161, 2018 (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Emily Beaulieu).
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Abstract:
Recent studies have shown a clear link between women in government and reduced concerns about corruption. Until now, it has remained unclear what underlying attitudes about women explain the perception that they will reduce corruption. Using a survey question about adding women to a police force, with an embedded experimental treatment, we examine three distinct stereotypes that might explain the power of women to reduce concerns about corruption: gender stereotypes of women as more ethical and honest; the perception of women as political outsiders; and beliefs that women are generally more risk-averse. We find that people do perceive women as more effective at combating corruption, and these perceptions are greatly enhanced when information about women’s outsider status and risk aversion is provided.
"Sex and Corruption: How Sexism Shapes Voters' Responses to Scandal." Politics, Groups, and Identities, Forthcoming (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Emily Beaulieu).
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Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests that voters rarely punish politicians for involvement in sex scandals. Yet, we argue that some voters are likely to hold politicians accountable for their moral transgressions. We theorize that both hostile and benevolent sexists are more likely than non-sexists to punish women for involvement in a sex scandal—but each for different reasons. We posit that women politicians involved in sex scandals activate traditional gender norms and challenge men’s dominant position in society, thus provoking hostile sexists to punish female politicians more severely than men. Benevolent sexists are likely to punish women who fail to comply with stereotypical expectations of being pure and moral, and the men who fail to safeguard those virtues. To test our theory, we rely on a survey experiment that manipulates politician sex and scandal type. We find strong support for our expectations, indicating that sexism continues to structure evaluations of female politicians and shapes voter reactions to political scandals.
Selected Working Papers:
"Does Descriptive Representation of the Working Class Matter for Symbolic Representation? Evidence from Latin American Legislatures" (with Tiffany D. Barnes, invited for Revise & Resubmit at Political Research Quarterly)
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Abstract
How does the near-exclusion of working class citizens from legislatures affect citizens’ perceptions of representation? We argue that when groups of people are continually denied access to representation, citizens are less likely to believe that their interests are represented by the legislature. By contrast, more inclusive institutions that incorporate members of the working class foster support for representative bodies. Using a multilevel analysis of 18 Latin American countries—a region plagued by a crisis of representation—we find that greater inclusion of the working class is associated with better evaluations of legislative performance. These findings have important implications for strengthening democracy in Latin America, as they indicate that more diverse political institutions may be key to deepening citizens’ attachments to representative bodies and mitigating the crisis of representation.
"Inequality, Fairness Perceptions, and Political Support in the Americas"
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Abstract
Economic inequality challenges a fundamental principal of democracy and undermines citizens' support for the political system. My research contributes to a growing body of literature on inequality and political support by examining the causal mechanisms that link inequality to trust in government and satisfaction with democracy, as well as the specific circumstances under which inequality erodes political support. Drawing from social justice and equity theories, as well as extensive fieldwork in Argentina, I argue that perceptions of distributive unfairness (i.e., unfair outcomes) are a key mechanism linking inequality to political dissatisfaction. Using a cross-national analysis of data from 18 Latin American countries, I first demonstrate that trust in government and satisfaction with democracy are negatively correlated with perceptions of distributive unfairness. Additionally, this relationship is strongest for citizens on the left of the left-right ideological continuum, and for people living in countries with low levels of procedural fairness. Second, to test the causal relationship between perceived distributive unfairness and political support, I turn to an original survey experiment I piloted in Mexico and the United States. The results from my survey experiments show that information about distributive unfairness depresses trust in government, particularly for left-learning participants. Given the promising results from my pilot data, I will next use funding I was awarded from an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant to field survey experiments on nationally representative samples in Argentina and Mexico.
"Political Ideology and Punishing Politicians: Voter Responses to Corruption and Sex Scandals" (with Tiffany D. Barnes)
Abstract
Recently, sex scandals involving high-profile politicians dominate the headlines of major U.S. news outlets. Sex scandals may sell newspapers, but unlike with corruption, public opinion research finds citizens rarely punish politicians implicated in a sex scandal. Still observational data reveals that some politicians have better luck surviving sex scandals than others. Do voters punish politicians for sex scandals? We argue that yes—some voters do. Whereas liberals are inclined to view a sex scandal as a personal matter—unrelated to a politician’s job performance—conservatives are more likely to view sex scandals as moral outrages that disregard traditional values, threaten the social order, and that are worthy of punishment at the polls. Using evidence from two survey experiments designed to isolate the effect of the type of scandal (i.e., corruption vs. sex) and we investigate heterogeneous treatment effects by political ideology. Consistent with prior research, we find that voters are generally unforgiving of corruption. When it comes to sex scandals, however, liberals tend to be more forgiving whereas conservatives tend to punish sex scandals on par with corruption scandals. Our findings have important implications for understanding voters’ reactions to recent sex scandals.
"Does Descriptive Representation of the Working Class foster Political Trust: Evidence from Mexico and Argentina" (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Yann P. Kerevel)
Abstract
Many labor-based parties have historic ties to the working class, yet we know very little about how the mechanisms used to incorporate working class representatives into the legislature influences citizens’ perceptions of representation. We argue for working class legislators to effectively foster trust in institutions they should have strong relationships with the disadvantaged group they represent and be committed to advocating for their policy interests. Where parties nominate working class candidates in order to control the working class and prevent labor conflict, we anticipate working class representatives will decrease trust in the legislature and political parties. In contrast, where parties nominate labor representatives in order to cultivate working class support and represent workers’ policy interests, we posit that working-class politicians will increase trust. To test our theory, we develop an original dataset on the occupational backgrounds of Argentine and Mexican national deputies over a 20-year period. We then merge these data with Latin American Public Opinion Project survey data from 2006-2017 to examine the link between variation in working class representation and trust in congress and trust in political parties.
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
"Restoring Trust in the Police: Why Female Officers Reduce Suspicions of Corruption." Governance 31 (1): 143-161, 2018 (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Emily Beaulieu).
- Featured in Democracy Speaks
Download file
Abstract:
Recent studies have shown a clear link between women in government and reduced concerns about corruption. Until now, it has remained unclear what underlying attitudes about women explain the perception that they will reduce corruption. Using a survey question about adding women to a police force, with an embedded experimental treatment, we examine three distinct stereotypes that might explain the power of women to reduce concerns about corruption: gender stereotypes of women as more ethical and honest; the perception of women as political outsiders; and beliefs that women are generally more risk-averse. We find that people do perceive women as more effective at combating corruption, and these perceptions are greatly enhanced when information about women’s outsider status and risk aversion is provided.
"Sex and Corruption: How Sexism Shapes Voters' Responses to Scandal." Politics, Groups, and Identities, Forthcoming (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Emily Beaulieu).
- Featured in the Washington Post Monkey Cage
Download file
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests that voters rarely punish politicians for involvement in sex scandals. Yet, we argue that some voters are likely to hold politicians accountable for their moral transgressions. We theorize that both hostile and benevolent sexists are more likely than non-sexists to punish women for involvement in a sex scandal—but each for different reasons. We posit that women politicians involved in sex scandals activate traditional gender norms and challenge men’s dominant position in society, thus provoking hostile sexists to punish female politicians more severely than men. Benevolent sexists are likely to punish women who fail to comply with stereotypical expectations of being pure and moral, and the men who fail to safeguard those virtues. To test our theory, we rely on a survey experiment that manipulates politician sex and scandal type. We find strong support for our expectations, indicating that sexism continues to structure evaluations of female politicians and shapes voter reactions to political scandals.
Selected Working Papers:
"Does Descriptive Representation of the Working Class Matter for Symbolic Representation? Evidence from Latin American Legislatures" (with Tiffany D. Barnes, invited for Revise & Resubmit at Political Research Quarterly)
Download File
Abstract
How does the near-exclusion of working class citizens from legislatures affect citizens’ perceptions of representation? We argue that when groups of people are continually denied access to representation, citizens are less likely to believe that their interests are represented by the legislature. By contrast, more inclusive institutions that incorporate members of the working class foster support for representative bodies. Using a multilevel analysis of 18 Latin American countries—a region plagued by a crisis of representation—we find that greater inclusion of the working class is associated with better evaluations of legislative performance. These findings have important implications for strengthening democracy in Latin America, as they indicate that more diverse political institutions may be key to deepening citizens’ attachments to representative bodies and mitigating the crisis of representation.
"Inequality, Fairness Perceptions, and Political Support in the Americas"
- Best paper by a graduate student in Political Science, Ohio Association of Economists and Political Scientists (2016)
- S. Sidney & Margaret Ulmer Award for Best Graduate Student Paper (2016)
Download File
Abstract
Economic inequality challenges a fundamental principal of democracy and undermines citizens' support for the political system. My research contributes to a growing body of literature on inequality and political support by examining the causal mechanisms that link inequality to trust in government and satisfaction with democracy, as well as the specific circumstances under which inequality erodes political support. Drawing from social justice and equity theories, as well as extensive fieldwork in Argentina, I argue that perceptions of distributive unfairness (i.e., unfair outcomes) are a key mechanism linking inequality to political dissatisfaction. Using a cross-national analysis of data from 18 Latin American countries, I first demonstrate that trust in government and satisfaction with democracy are negatively correlated with perceptions of distributive unfairness. Additionally, this relationship is strongest for citizens on the left of the left-right ideological continuum, and for people living in countries with low levels of procedural fairness. Second, to test the causal relationship between perceived distributive unfairness and political support, I turn to an original survey experiment I piloted in Mexico and the United States. The results from my survey experiments show that information about distributive unfairness depresses trust in government, particularly for left-learning participants. Given the promising results from my pilot data, I will next use funding I was awarded from an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant to field survey experiments on nationally representative samples in Argentina and Mexico.
"Political Ideology and Punishing Politicians: Voter Responses to Corruption and Sex Scandals" (with Tiffany D. Barnes)
Abstract
Recently, sex scandals involving high-profile politicians dominate the headlines of major U.S. news outlets. Sex scandals may sell newspapers, but unlike with corruption, public opinion research finds citizens rarely punish politicians implicated in a sex scandal. Still observational data reveals that some politicians have better luck surviving sex scandals than others. Do voters punish politicians for sex scandals? We argue that yes—some voters do. Whereas liberals are inclined to view a sex scandal as a personal matter—unrelated to a politician’s job performance—conservatives are more likely to view sex scandals as moral outrages that disregard traditional values, threaten the social order, and that are worthy of punishment at the polls. Using evidence from two survey experiments designed to isolate the effect of the type of scandal (i.e., corruption vs. sex) and we investigate heterogeneous treatment effects by political ideology. Consistent with prior research, we find that voters are generally unforgiving of corruption. When it comes to sex scandals, however, liberals tend to be more forgiving whereas conservatives tend to punish sex scandals on par with corruption scandals. Our findings have important implications for understanding voters’ reactions to recent sex scandals.
"Does Descriptive Representation of the Working Class foster Political Trust: Evidence from Mexico and Argentina" (with Tiffany D. Barnes and Yann P. Kerevel)
Abstract
Many labor-based parties have historic ties to the working class, yet we know very little about how the mechanisms used to incorporate working class representatives into the legislature influences citizens’ perceptions of representation. We argue for working class legislators to effectively foster trust in institutions they should have strong relationships with the disadvantaged group they represent and be committed to advocating for their policy interests. Where parties nominate working class candidates in order to control the working class and prevent labor conflict, we anticipate working class representatives will decrease trust in the legislature and political parties. In contrast, where parties nominate labor representatives in order to cultivate working class support and represent workers’ policy interests, we posit that working-class politicians will increase trust. To test our theory, we develop an original dataset on the occupational backgrounds of Argentine and Mexican national deputies over a 20-year period. We then merge these data with Latin American Public Opinion Project survey data from 2006-2017 to examine the link between variation in working class representation and trust in congress and trust in political parties.