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Latin American legislators, like legislators worldwide, are drawn from a narrow set of elites who are largely out of touch with average citizens. Despite comprising the vast majority of the labor force, working-class people represent a small slice of the legislature. Working Class Inclusion examines how the near exclusion of working-class citizens from legislatures affects citizens’ evaluations of government. Combining surveys from across Latin America with novel data on legislators’ class backgrounds and experiments from Argentina and Mexico, the book demonstrates voters want more workers in office, and when combined with policy representation, the presence of working-class legislators improves citizens’ evaluations of government. Absent policy representation, however, workers are met with distrust and backlash. Chapters show citizens have many opportunities to learn about the presence, or absence, of workers; and the relationship between working-class representation and evaluations of government is strongest among citizens who are aware of legislators’ class status.

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Peer-Reviewed Articles:

Mhajne, Anwar, and Gregory W. Saxton. 2022. "Gender Egalitarian Attitudes and Support for Islamist Parties in the Middle East and North Africa." Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy 43 (2) 227-244.

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Abstract
How do attitudes about women’s equality affect political support for Islamist parties? Women’s issues remain a key point of contention between religious groups and the government in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Given Islamists’ conservative stances on women’s rights, individuals who support gender equality may naturally be skeptical of Islamist parties participating in politics. Nevertheless, democratic stability in the region requires creating inclusive political institutions, including women’s movements and the Islamic opposition. Where democracy is inclusive and competitive, Islamist parties may moderate their positions to remain electorally viable, thus alleviating gender equality proponents’ concerns. To test these expectations, we draw on two different survey data sources from the MENA region. Our results, consistent across time and data sources, demonstrate that gender egalitarian individuals are less likely to trust Islamist parties or tolerate their inclusion in formal politics. Nevertheless, democracy mitigates this negative relationship.

Saxton, Gregory W., and Tiffany D. Barnes. 2022. "Sex and Ideology: Liberal and Conservative Responses to Scandal." Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties 32 (2) 396-407.

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Abstract
Research finds citizens are far less likely to penalize politicians when they are implicated in sex scandals as compared to corruption. 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 and threaten the social order. Conservatives are thus less forgiving of sex scandals than liberals, especially when women politicians are implicated. Using evidence from a survey experiment designed to isolate the effect of scandal type (corruption vs. sex) and candidate sex, we investigate heterogeneous effects by political ideology.  We find that liberals tend to be forgiving of sex scandals, but not corruption. Conservatives, by contrast, punish men’s sex scandals on par with men’s involvement in corruption. And, conservatives assign women a penalty bonus. Although they are more likely to punish women for involvement in corruption than for sex scandals—they are significantly more likely than liberals to punish women for involvement in either type of scandal.

Saxton, Gregory W. 2021. "Governance Quality, Fairness Perceptions, and Satisfaction with Democracy in Latin America." Latin American Politics & Society 63 (2): 122-145.

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Abstract
How do individuals’ fairness judgments affect support for the political system?  I argue that when citizens perceive high levels of distributive unfairness in society, they will be less satisfied with the way democracy functions. Yet, good governance – i.e., impartiality in the exercise of political authority – should mitigate the negative influence of perceived distributive unfairness on satisfaction. Using a cross-national analysis of 18 Latin American countries from 2011 to 2015, I demonstrate individuals are significantly less satisfied with democracy when they perceive their country’s income distribution as unfair. Yet, good governance – as indicated by a country’s level of corruption – significantly offsets this negative relationship, even in a region with the highest level of inequality in the world.   These findings imply that policymakers can bolster democratic satisfaction, even in places where citizens perceive the income distribution as fundamentally unfair, by committing to good governance and fair democratic procedures.


Barnes, Tiffany D., Emily Beaulieu, and Gregory W. Saxton. 2020. "Sex and Corruption: How Sexism Shapes Voters' Responses to Scandal." Politics, Groups, and Identities 8 (1): 103-121.

• Featured in the Washington Post Monkey Cage

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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.

Barnes, Tiffany D., and Gregory W. Saxton. 2019. "Working-Class Legislators and Perceptions of Representation in Latin America." Political Research Quarterly 72 (4): 910-928.

• Invited presentation at "The Public and Democracy in the Americas" conference, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.

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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 disapproval of and disenchantment with 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. 

Barnes, Tiffany D., Emily Beaulieu, and Gregory W. Saxton. 2018. "Restoring Trust in the Police: Why Female Officers Reduce Suspicions of Corruption."  Governance 31 (1): 143-161. 

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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.