Research Interests | Dissertation | Publications | Conference Papers | Education | CV
Research Interests
Urban Politics, Local Finance, Collective Action Problems, Federalism, Congressional Lawmaking, Empirical Research Methodology
Dissertation Research
Title: The Proximate Polity: Exit, Voice, and Space in Local Development Politics
Overview: My dissertation research examines the spatial dynamics associated with local economic development policy production and provision. I ask the question: How do the politics and economics of geographically proximate polities influence the provision of developmental goods by cities and the arrangements they use to provide them? The hypotheses I test are rooted in the theories about mobility and urban politics developed by Tiebout (1956), Hirschman (1970), and Peterson (1981). The Tiebout hypothesis in particular places the policy decisions of localities in the context of a space where people make decisions about how they want to live. So long as people are free to make these decisions, then the policy decisions and economic characteristics of other political jurisdictions are critical to understanding the policy choices of cities. Using several datasets I am conducting spatial econometric analyses on local commercial and residential development spending and inter-jurisdictional cooperation. Additionally, I will perform a social-network analysis on cooperative and competitive networks that exist between local officials in Colorado and Maryland.
Publications
Minkoff, Scott L. 2009. "Minding Your Neighborhood: The Spatial Context of Local Redistribution." Social Science Quarterly 90 (3):516-37.
Abstract: Objectives. Previous research on local redistribution has not accounted for spatial context. I develop a model of local own-source redistributive spending that accounts for the economic characteristics and policy decisions of geographic neighbors. Methods. I estimate a modified spatial 2-SLS equation of own-source redistributive spending that appropriately accounts for endogeneity between neighboring policy decisions and own policy decisions. The dataset spans the 48 contiguous states and utilizes data from the 2000 Census and the 1997 Census of Governments—Finance among other sources. Results. I find that neighboring policy choices and economic characteristics are significantly related to own-source HCD spending decisions. Conclusions. The nuances of geographic context are a critical determinant of local redistributive spending decisions.
Conference Papers
Makse, Todd, Anand Edward Sokhey, and Scott L. Minkoff. 2010. “Understanding Visible Political Participation: An Analysis of Yard Sign-Displays during the 2008 Presidential Election.” Prepared for the 2010 Western Political Science Association Annual Meetings (San Francisco, California: April 1-3) and the 2010 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, Illinois: April 22-25).
Abstract: Displaying a political yard sign is a conspicuous but understudied act that toes the line between political participation and political communication. While these signs constitute an important part of campaigns - and anecdotal evidence suggests that political “sign wars” arise in neighborhoods - no systematic analysis of such behavior exists. To address this, we utilize an original, geo-coded observational dataset of sixty-one voting precincts in Franklin County, Ohio collected over the course of the 2008 presidential election cycle. Looking at the level of the precinct, census-block, and property-level, we examine the correlates of yard sign-displaying, and look for spatial patterns in this highly visible form of political participation.
Adler, E. Scott, Charles Cameron, and Scott L. Minkoff. "Bills Support Rates: What do they tell us about Theories of US Lawmaking." Prepared for the 2009 American Political Science Association Meetings: Toronto, Canada.
Abstract: We examine bill support rates (BSR), the percentage of times a member votes for a class of bills rather than the status quo on the final passage vote, as a function of her ideology. The set of BSR maximizers is the set of ideal points yielding maximal BSRs. Using simulations and simple derivations, we show that three theories of lawmaking – a simple Downsian Congress, a Party Cartel Congess, and a Veto Pivots Congress -- make quite distinct and very different predictions about the location and marginal shifts of the set of BSR maximizers. We formulate simple tests for each theory’s predictions and for the predictions that distinguish among the theories. We propose practical methods for implementing these tests statistically. Using newly assembled data, we calculate bill support rates and estimate the set of BSR maximizers for a variety of bill types in the House of Representatives in three congresses (the 102nd, 105th, and 106th). We carry out the required statistical tests. We are reluctant to over-interpret preliminary data. In further work we will extend the analysis to all post-war congresses, allowing stronger inferences and conclusions.
Education
Ph.D. University of Colorado, Political Science, Expected December 2011
Major Fields: American Politics and Empirical Methodology
M.A. University of Colorado, Political Science, May 2008
Master's Thesis: Minding Your Neighborhood: The Spatial Context of Local Redistribution
Committee: Dr. Susan Clarke, Dr. Kenneth Bickers, Dr. John P. McIver
B.A. Skidmore College, Government, May 2004
Undergraduate Thesis: Welfare Reform in Three Southern States
Advisor: Dr. Robert Turner
