Faculty & Research

Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Working Papers Series

Batten faculty may post their working papers as PDFs until they are published. Once published, the work and its complete citation can be found in Publications.

2013-011. Women's Issues and Their Fates in Congress (Craig Volden)

Significant scholarship indicates that female legislators focus their attention on “women’s issues” to a greater extent than do male lawmakers.  Yet, women’s issues have thus far been largely selected by scholars ex ante, often without comparison to other issues.  We instead define women’s issues in terms of those sponsored at a greater rate by women in Congress over a thirty-year period.  This analysis reveals that most (but not all) of the classically considered women’s issues are indeed raised at an enhanced rate by congresswomen.  We then track the fate of those issues, demons read more about 2013-011. Women's Issues and Their Fates in Congress (Craig Volden) »

2013-010. Learning and Policy Diffusion: Experimental Evidence (Craig Volden)

We introduce experimental research design to the study of policy diffusion in order to better understand the micro-foundations of when and why policymakers seek to learn from one another’s experiences. Our two experiments, embedded in national surveys of U.S. municipal officials, expose local policymakers to vignettes describing the zoning and home foreclosure policies of other cities, and offer them an opportunity to learn more. read more about 2013-010. Learning and Policy Diffusion: Experimental Evidence (Craig Volden) »

2013-009. Issue Diffusion Across Political Campaigns (Craig Volden)

We argue that simultaneous political campaigns for different offices are best viewed neither as individual isolated races nor as homogenous national tides.  Rather, campaigns are complex, strategic, evolving, and interrelated.  We apply the event history analysis tools commonly used in the study of policy diffusion to examine issue adoption across U.S. read more about 2013-009. Issue Diffusion Across Political Campaigns (Craig Volden) »

2013-008. Doctor Knows Best (Eric M. Patashnik)

The Obama Administration has made a major investment in comparative effectiveness research (CER) to learn what treatments work best for which patients. CER has the potential to reduce wasteful medical spending and improve patient outcomes, but the political sustainability of this initiative remains unclear due to concerns that it will threaten the doctor-patient relationship. An unresolved question is whether it is possible to boost public support for the use of CER as a cost control strategy. read more about 2013-008. Doctor Knows Best (Eric M. Patashnik) »

2013-007. The Performance and Legacy of the War on Poverty's Housing Policies (Edgar O. Olsen)

Improving the housing of the poorest families was a high priority for President Lyndon B. Johnson. The widely-publicized problems found in the nation's most distressed public housing projects, together with the fairly steady official poverty rate in the US since LBJ's administration, have led many to a pessimistic view about what was accomplished with the War on Poverty's housing programs for low-income families. read more about 2013-007. The Performance and Legacy of the War on Poverty's Housing Policies (Edgar O. Olsen) »

2013-006. Intelligence, Congress and National Security Policymaking (Gerald Felix Warburg)

Discusses the different cultures of Congress and the intelligence community, and the role these cultures play in shaping relations. Argues that many in the intelligence community fail to build strong relationships with lawmakers responsible for intelligence oversight, and that keeping Congress apprised is essential to sustaining popular support for intelligence community activities. Warns that the expanding role of the intelligence community in drone strikes abroad threatens to provoke Congressional backlash in the future. read more about 2013-006. Intelligence, Congress and National Security Policymaking (Gerald Felix Warburg) »

2013-005. Nonproliferation Policy Crossroads: Lessons Learned from the US-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (Gerald Felix Warburg)

On October 1, 2008, Congress enacted a proposal that originated with President George W. Bush in 2005 to approve an unprecedented nuclear trade pact with India by removing a central pillar of US nonproliferation policy. Despite the numerous political challenges confronting the Bush administration, the initiative won strong bipartisan support, including votes from Democratic Senators Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. read more about 2013-005. Nonproliferation Policy Crossroads: Lessons Learned from the US-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (Gerald Felix Warburg) »

2013-004. Private Equity and the Innovation Strategies of Entrepreneurial Firms (Christopher Ruhm)

There is great interest in evaluating the impact of private equity investments on innovation and economic growth.  However, there is no direct empirical evidence on the effects of such transactions on the innovation strategies of entrepreneurial firms.  We fill this gap by examining a rich project-level data set consisting of entrepreneurial firms receiving Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program research awards. read more about 2013-004. Private Equity and the Innovation Strategies of Entrepreneurial Firms (Christopher Ruhm) »

2013-003. Doctors With Borders: Occupational Licensing as an Implicit Barrier to High Skill Migration (David Leblang)

Skills are often occupation-specific, a fact missing from existing research on the political economy of immigration. Although analyses of survey data suggest broad support for skilled migration occupational licensing regulations persist as formidable barriers to skilled migrants’ labor market entry. Regulations ostensibly serve the public interest by certifying competence but are simultaneously rent-preserving entry barriers. read more about 2013-003. Doctors With Borders: Occupational Licensing as an Implicit Barrier to High Skill Migration (David Leblang) »

2013-002. Under the Cover of Darkness: Using Daylight Saving Time to Measure How Ambient Light Influences Criminal Behavior (Jennifer Doleac)

We use data from the National Incidence-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to examine how the probability of getting caught when committing a crime, proxied by ambient daylight, impacts criminal activity. We exploit the existence of daylight saving time (DST) to provide within-hour exogenous shock to daylight, using both the discontinuous nature of DST as well as the 2007 extension of DST as sources of variation. Further, we consider both crimes where darkness is likely to play a role in avoiding capture and crimes where darkness would make little difference. read more about 2013-002. Under the Cover of Darkness: Using Daylight Saving Time to Measure How Ambient Light Influences Criminal Behavior (Jennifer Doleac) »

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