New York University
Field Seminar - Congressional Elections and Competitiveness (Fall, 2008)This course focuses on the lack of competition in Congressional elections in
the United States. To understand this lack of competition we cover: the basic
facts of re-election rates, the amount of money spent by incumbents and
challengers, and the nature of congressional districts. We will also cover
existing theories and evidence about the behavior of voters that maintains so
many incumbents in office: including the impact of issues, the impact of
campaign spending, and whether or not voters have become more polarized. We
consider redistricting and campaign finance rules as possible causes of the
lack of competition.
V53.0300: Power and Politics in America (Spring, 2006)
This course will begin by analyzing the possible roles government can play in society. We will
examine how voters, elected officials, un-elected officials, and other political actors behave in the
political arena. The goal of the course is to help students learn the basic structure of American
politics, to understand why political actors behave as they do, and to be able to evaluate the
implications of alternative political institutions. (Students enrolled in the course can go to the course website via Blackboard).
Field Seminar - Electoral Process (Spring, 2004)
This course will examine the major theories of voting in U.S. elections, as well as the evidence for those theories. We will start with models of political socialization, then consider what could be considered its primary competitor: the standard spatial model of voting which is based on the issue positions of voters and candidates. We also consider the effects of the economy on elections: looking both at standard reward-punishment models voters could follow, as well as more modern political-economy variants considering the macro-economy more completely. We then consider the role of information and uncertainty in elections: how voters acquire information, and how uncertainty about candidates' positions influences voter behavior. Finally we consider strategic calculations of both voters and parties.
V53.0395: Elections, Voters, Candidates, and Money (Spring, 2003)
This course focuses on elections: examining the role of candidates, campaign spending, and voters. The course begins with models of political socialization, then consider what could be considered its primary competitor: the standard spatial model of voting which is based on the issue positions of voters and candidates. We also consider the role of information and uncertainty in elections: how voters acquire information, and how uncertainty about candidates' positions influences voter behavior. We pay special attention to the nature of elections in the United States for Congress and examine why incumbents win with such frequency, including what characteristics allow a candidate to raise money.
G53.2324: Campaigns and Elections (graduate).
This course will examine the major theories of voting in U.S. elections, as well as the evidence for those theories. We will start with models of political socialization, then consider what could be considered its primary competitor: the standard spatial model of voting.We then consider the role of information in elections: how voters acquire it, how they process it, and how it influences them. We also consider the effects of the economy on elections: looking both at standard reward-punishment models voters could follow, as well as more modern political-economy variants considering the macro-economy more completely. We examine the roll of campaign spending. And we look at political participation and voter turnout. (Spring 2001).
G53.1150: Quantitative Research in Political Science (graduate).
G53.2127: Quantitative Political Analysis II (graduate). This is a course in regression analysis. It begins with basic hypothesis testing using Ordinary Least Squares regression. In this course we will examine how to build moresophisticated models allowing us to test more complex hypotheses, and also learn more sophisticated statistical tests enabling us to proceed with analysis even when the Gauss-Markov assumptions are violated. The primary emphasis is on identifying statistical techniques appropriate to the question being examined, and correctly applying those techniques.
Harvard University
Gov1000: Introduction to Political Methodology
Gov 2000: Quantitative Methods for Political Science II
Gov 2405: Issues, the Economy, and Elections
Gov 3007: Political Economy Seminar
University of California
PS255: American Electoral Behavior
PS260: Economics and Elections
