Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:22:51.516Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Measurement of the Partisan Balance of State Government

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Abstract

This note examines problems associated with measuring the partisan balance of state government. A description of a new publicly available dataset is given, as well as of the methods used to collect these data. The results of three data analyses using different measures of state government partisan balance demonstrate that sometimes measurement error on this variable can influence substantive findings.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alt, James E., and Lowry, Robert C.. 2000. “A Dynamic Model of State Budget Outcomes under Divided Partisan Government.” Journal of Politics 62:10351069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel, and Katz, Jonathan N.. 1995. “What to Do (and Not to Do) With Time-Series Cross-Section Data.” American Journal of Political Science 89:634647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William D., Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L.. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science 42:327348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William D., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L.. 2000. “An Annual Cost of Living Index for the American States, 1960-1995.” Journal of Politics 62:550567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William D., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L.. 2003. “Reassessing the ‘Race to the Bottom’ in State Welfare Policy.” Journal of Politics. 65:327349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, Sims-Butler, Kellie, Arceneaux, Kevin, and Johnson, Martin. 2002. “Public Opinion in the States: New Perspectives Using National Survey Data.” American Journal of Political Science 46:173189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Robert D. 1995. “Party Cleavage and Welfare Effort in the American States.” American Political Science Review 89:2333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clingermayer, James C., and Dan Wood, B.. 1995. “Disentangling Patterns of State Debt Financing.” American Political Science Review 89:108120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1997. The Pennsylvania Manual. Harrisburg, PA: Department of General Services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly. 1998. Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.Google Scholar
Council of State Governments. 1960-2000. The Book of the States. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Council of State Governments. 1959-2000. Supplement I to The Book of the States: State Elective Officials and the Legislatures. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Council of State Governments. 1977-2000. Supplement II to The Book of the States: State Legislative Leadership, Committees and Staff. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and Katz, Jonathan N.. 2002. Elbridge Gerry's Salamander: The Electoral Consequences of the Reapportionment Revolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, Russell, and MacKinnon, James G.. 1993. Estimation and Inference in Econometrics. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dilger, Robert J. 1998. “Does Politics Matter? Partisanship's Impact on State Spending and Taxes, 1985-95.” State and Local Government Review 30:139144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erickson, Brenda M. 1998. “Circumventing Stalemate.” State Legislatures 24:4649.Google Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., Wright, Gerald C., and McIver, John P.. 1993. Statehouse Democracy: Public Opinion and Policy in the American States. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Greene, William H. 2000. Econometric Analysis. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Peter. 1998. A Guide to Econometrics. 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
King, James D. 1989. “Interparty Competition in the American States: An Examination of Index Components.” Western Political Quarterly 42:8392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plotnick, Robert D., and Winters, Richard F.. 1990. “Party, Political Liberalism, and Redistribution: An Application to the American States.” American Politics Quarterly 18:430458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ranney, Austin. 1976. “Parties in State Government.” In Politics in the American States, eds. Jacob, Herbert and Vines, Kenneth. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Smith, Mark A. 1997. “The Nature of Party Governance: Connecting Conceptualization and Measurement.” American Journal of Political Science 41:10421056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tweedie, Jack. 1994. “Resources Rather than Needs: A State-Centered Model of Welfare Policymaking.” American Journal of Political Science 38:651672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United States Census Bureau. 1960-2001. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: United States Department of Commerce.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Klarner supplementary material

StatePartisanBalance1959to2004_SourceFiles_2007_05_20

Download Klarner supplementary material(File)
File 625.2 KB
Supplementary material: File

Klarner supplementary material

StateLegislatorsSourceFileAddition2005to2007_2007_02_13.xls

Download Klarner supplementary material(File)
File 32.5 KB