Download my Spring 2018 Syllabus

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to an overview of state government operations. We will place the executive branch at the center of our study, but will also examine how other state institutions (legislature, judiciary), intergovernmental relations, and outside actors (interest groups, non-profits, etc) affect state government administration. Additionally, we will use the comparative study of the states to understand how administrative tasks and problems vary. Finally, we will discuss hot topics in state government administration, including preemption, the “fiscal ice age,” cybersecurity, and more.

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introductions (1/11) (Slides)

• Introduction to the course and each other
• Pacheco-Vega, Raul. 2017. “Finding the Most Relevant Information in a Paper While Reading: A Three-Step Method (The AIC Technique).” Blog Post. 

Week 2: The Comparative Approach (1/18) (Slides)

• Jewell, Malcolm and Ann O’M. Bowman. 1982. “The Neglected World of State Politics.” Journal of Politics 44(3): 638-657.
• Donovan, Todd, Daniel A. Smith, Tracy Osborn, and Christopher Z. Mooney. 2015. State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reforms. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Chapter 1. (See Canvas).
• Mallinson, Daniel J. and David L. Carr. 2017. “State Revenue Forecasts: Building a Shared Reality.” William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy. February.

Week 3: What States Do (1/25)

• News Staff. 2018. “The Biggest Issues for States to Watch in 2018.” Governing Magazine. January.
• Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. 2017. “Policy Basics: Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go?” April 24.
• Kettl, Donald F. 2000. “The Transformation of Governance: Globalization, Devolution, and the Role of Government.” Public Administration Review 60(6): 488-497.
• Case Study Research Proposal Due

Week 4: The Executive Branch (2/1) (Slides)

• Brehm, John and Scott Gates. 1999. Working, Shirking, and Sabotage: Bureaucratic Response to a Democratic Public. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Chapters 1 and 6. (See Canvas)
• Bowman, Ann O’M., Neal D. Woods, and Milton R. Stark II. 2010. “Governors Turn Pro: Separation of Powers and the Institutionalization of the American Governorship.” Political Research Quarterly 63(2): 304-315.

Week 5: The Legislature (2/8) (Slides)

• Barrilleaux, Charles and Michael Berkman. 2003. “Do Governors Matter? Budgeting Rules and the Politics of State Policymaking.” Political Research Quarterly 56(4): 409-417.
• Woods, Neal D. and Michael Baranowski. 2006. “Legislative Professionalism and Influence on State Agencies: The Effects of Resources and Careerism.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31(4): 585-609.
• Huber, John D., Charles R. Shipan, and Madelaine Pfahler. 2001. “Legislatures and Statutory Control of Bureaucracy.” American Journal of Political Science 45(2): 330-345.
• Gerber, Brian J., Cherie Maestas, and Nelson C. Dometrius. 2005. “State Legislative Influence over Agency Rulemaking: the Utility of Ex Ante Review.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 5(1): 24-46.

Week 6: The Judiciary (2/15) (Slides)

• Hanssen, F. Andrew. 2004. “Learning about Judicial Independence: Institutional Change in the State Courts.” The Journal of Legal Studies 33(2): 431-473.
• Langer, Laura and Paul Brace. 2005. “The Preemptive Power of State Supreme Courts: Adoption of Abortion and Death Penalty Legislation.” Policy Studies Journal 33(3): 317-340.
• First Administrative Memo Due

Week 7: Outside Actors and Third Party Government (2/22) (Slides)

• Lowery, David and Virginia Gray. 1995. “The Population Ecology of Gucci Gulch, or the Natural Regulation of Interest Group Numbers in the American States.” American Journal of Political Science 39(1): 1-29.
• Lewis, Daniel C., Saundra K. Schneider, and William G. Jacoby. 2015. “Institutional Characteristics and State Policy Priorities.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 15(4): 447-475.
• Brudney, Jeffrey L., Sergio Fernandez, Jay Eungha Ryu, and Deil S. Wright. 2005. “Exploring and Explaining Contracting Out: Patterns Among the American States.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 15(3): 393-419.

Week 8: Federalism (3/1) (Slides)

• Hannah, A. Lee and Daniel J. Mallinson. In Press. “Defiant Innovation: The Adoption of Medical Marijuana Laws in the American States.” Policy Studies Journal.
• Oates, Wallace E. 1999. “An Essay on Fiscal Federalism.” Journal of Economic Literature 37(3): 1120-1149.
• Rough Draft of Case Study Due

Week 9: Spring Break (3/8)

• No Class

Week 10: Local Governments (3/15) (Slides)

• Greenblatt, Alan. 2011. “States Handing Off More Responsibilities to Cities.” Governing Magazine. April.
• Riverstone-Newell, Lori. 2017. “The Rise of State Preemption Laws in Response to Local Policy Innovation.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 47(3): 403-425.
• Bowman, Ann O’M. and Richard C. Kearney. 2011. “Second-Order Devolution: Data and Doubt.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 41(4): 563-585.

Week 11: Financial Stress (3/22) (Slides)

• Kiewiet, D. Roderick and Mathew D. McCubbins. 2013. “State and Local Government Finance: The New Fiscal Ice Age.” Annual Review of Political Science 17: 105-122.
• Boyd, Donald J. and Lucy Dadayan. 2015. “The Economy Recovers While State Finances Lag.” The Blinken Report. Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. June.
• PEW. 2017. “When to Use State Rainy Day Funds.” April.
• Barrett, Katherine and Richard Greene. 2018. “It’s the Money Stupid.” Governing. February.
• Peer Review of Case Study Due

Week 12: Infrastructure (3/29)

• American Society of Civil Engineers. 2017. “Pennsylvania 2014 Report Card.” Look through all sections of the web-based report.
• McNichol, Elizabeth. 2017. “It’s Time for States to Invest in Infrastructure.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. August 10.
• Second Administrative Memo Due

Week 13: Education (4/5) (Slides)

• Henninger-Voss, Eugene and Stephen Herzenberg. 2017. “Pennsylvania Higher Education at a Crossroads.” Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. August 18.
• Klitgaard, Michael Baggesen. 2008. “School Vouchers and the New Politics of the Welfare State.” Governance 21(4): 479-498.
• Berkman, Michael, Julianna Sandell Pacheco, and Eric Plutzer. 2008. “Evolution and Creationism in America’s Classrooms: A National Portrait.” PLOS Biology 6(5): 0920-0924.

Week 14: Healthcare (4/12) (Slides)

• Hertel-Fernandez, Alexander, Theda Skocpol, and Daniel Lynch. 2016. “Business Associations, Conservative Networks, and the Ongoing Republican War over Medicaid Expansion.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 41(2): 239-288.
• Hughes, Lauren S., Alon Peltz, and Patrick H. Conway. 2015. “State Innovation Model Initiative: A State-Led Approach to Accelerating Health Care System Transformation.” JAMA 313(13): 1317-1318.
• Silow-Carroll, Sharon and JoAnn Lamphere. 2013. “State Innovation Models: Early Experiences and Challenges of an Initiative to Advance Broad Health System Reform.” Commonwealth Fund pub 1706 Vol. 25. September.

Week 15: Cybersecurity (4/19) (Slides)

• Torres-Spelliscy, Ciara. 2018. “Why Federalism Keeps Me Up At Night.” Brennan Center for Justice. March 28. 
• Bergal, Jenni. 2018. “Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Help States Beef Up Election Cybersecurity.” Stateline. PEW Charitable Trusts. January 3.
• National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). 2017. “Securing Future Elections Against Cyber Threats.” Issue Briefing. July 21.
• Fidler, David P. 2017. “Transforming Election Cybersecurity.” Council on Foreign Relations. May.
• Third Administrative Memo Due

Week 16: Case Presentations (4/26)

• Each team will present their case study

Week 17: Finals Week

• Final Case Comparison Due by 11:59 pm on May 2