A Symbolic Interactionist Analysis of Politics

The purpose of this article will be to outline a symbolic interactionist approach to the study of politics in the United States. In the course of this presentation, the basic assumptions and concepts of the interactionist perspective will be presented, culminating in a model of society as a negotiated order. This model in conjunction with definitions of power and politics will provide the basis for analyzing the processes of power. The article will focus on and emphasize two mechanisms of power, information flow control and symbolic mobilization of support, which have previously been unrecognized and unan-alyzed. In the conclusion, the strengths and weaknesses of the approach will be discussed.     

Robust Estimation for Zero‐Inflated Poisson Regression

Abstract. The zero‐inflated Poisson regression model is a special case of finite mixture models that is useful for count data containing many zeros. Typically, maximum likelihood (ML) estimation is used for fitting such models. However, it is well known that the ML estimator is highly sensitive to the presence of outliers and can become unstable when mixture components are poorly separated. In this paper, we propose an alternative robust estimation approach, robust expectation‐solution (RES) estimation. We compare the RES approach with an existing robust approach, minimum Hellinger distance (MHD) estimation. Simulation results indicate that both methods improve on ML when outliers are present and/or when the mixture components are poorly separated. However, the RES approach is more efficient in all the scenarios we considered. In addition, the RES method is shown to yield consistent and asymptotically normal estimators and, in contrast to MHD, can be applied quite generally.     

WOMEN AND TARIFFS: TESTING THE GENDER GAP HYPOTHESIS IN A DOWNS-MAYER POLITICAL-ECONOMY MODEL

This paper tests a variant of the standard endogenous tariff model under direct democracy (the Downs-Mayer model) with a gender gap. Specifically, we argue that, if there is a division of economic activity between men and women, and political preferences are affected by one's relationship to the economy, there will be a gender gap in political activity. We test this hypothesis with respect to the effect of political enfranchisement of women on the level of the U.S. tariff. The empirical results strongly support the hypothesis (JEL F4, D7, N4)     

Educational ties,social capital and the translocal (re)production of MBA alumni networks

Research on elite, transnational networks has identified social and cultural capital associated with particular academic credentials as being an important element in network formation. How and why such networks are reproduced after graduation, however, has received less attention. In response, in this article I combine work on social capital and personal networks to explore the reproduction of MBA alumni networks in London's financial services district that were created in leading business schools in the USA and UK. My analysis documents the ways in which business schools and individual alumni combine forms of virtual and corporeal co‐presence to reproduce translocal educational ties. I then argue that the motivation for sustaining these educational ties lies in the potential to convert the social and cultural capital of MBA alumni networks into different types of value ranging from enhanced career progression to increased alumni donations. In doing so, I develop debates on the intersections between social capital, academic credentials and the reproduction of elite networks.     

HETEROGENEOUS FIRMS: A CONSUMER'S REPORT

The august title 'the theory of the firm' is well known to every student of economics. Less well known is what a firm is exactly, what it may do, or of what use this 'theory' may be in understanding the world. W.Y. Oi adds substance to our vague outline of a 'theory' in his analysis of heterogeneous firms, while posing a definite challenge of explanation for it. If the result falls short of the mark, it is an interesting attempt, nevertheless.     

MARKET ENFORCED INFORMATION ASYMMETRY: A STUDY OF CLAIMING RACES

This is a study of complementary markets. The race track polices the betting market with information revealed in a 'claiming horse' market. This policing reduces the adverse consequences of asymmetric information: experts in identifying horses and fraud are deterred from biasing betting odds against bettors at large. Consequently, bettors specialize in evaluating published race information. This 'monitoring' theory is compared to a competing theory of claim races as a self-assessed horse market. Parametric data is used to evaluate each theory. Institutional details also provide a test of each theory.     

Executives’ Views of Factors Affecting Governance Change in a Not‐for‐Profit Setting

Knowing the factors that executives deem critical to governance change can improve our understanding of how such changes come about and can help us evaluate those changes. Interviews with business and finance executives at 11 colleges reveal the importance to governance change of chief executive and board member leadership and interactions, as well as executive communication style. Costs are clear constraints to action, particularly since benefits are not quantified and are difficult to describe. Efforts to discuss governance with internal stakeholders require persistence to overcome narrow, individualized concerns. Communication about governance to external stakeholders is rare and represents a missed opportunity for stakeholder feedback and the development of trust. Executives appear willing to adopt governance forms without considering the idiosyncrasies of their institutional field, limiting the working definition of governance and its potential. For corporations and not‐for‐profit enterprises these findings hold implications for the context in which leadership is exercised and the shape of governance structures. They also pose a fundamental ethical dilemma for leaders to address.