Nicholas Weller
Biographic Data
| ID | 199899 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nicholas Weller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nicholas |
| FAMILY NAME | Weller |
| SIGNATURE | WELLER N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Riverside |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2198-5625 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 117 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Police as Policymakers: How Experiences With Policy Implementation Shape Policy Representation
Scholars of political representation have focused primarily on congruence between public preferences and enacted legislation, paying less attention to how policies are actually delivered by street-level bureaucrats in face-to-face encounters with citizens. This approach obscures the possibility that individuals may nonetheless have divergent perceptions of implemented policy that, in turn, inform their political attitudes. We examine this argumen…
Communities of transformation: An example from the museum field
Working-Class Legislators, Bill Writing, and Introduction: Limited Evidence of Substantive Representation in Congress
Few groups are as poorly represented in Congress relative to their prevalence in the population as are members of the working-class. While working-class members of Congress vote more economically liberally than do other members, the extent to which they are more likely to introduce or write legislation to benefit the working-class is unknown. We test whether legislators from a working-class background provide better substantive representation of …
The Substantive Effects of Descriptive Representation: Gay and Lesbian Members of Congress Are More Supportive of Gay Rights
The descriptive representation of stigmatized groups has numerous benefits both to group members and society at large. We study the extent to which LGB members of the US Congress provide increased support for LGBT rights. While LGBT substantive representation has been studied extensively, descriptive representation has been examined extensively at only the local and state levels. The absence of research at the federal level is important because f…
Do Public Housing Agencies Discriminate Against Latinos?: A Large-Scale Replication Study to Assess Discrimination
Discrimination by political elites has been identified in a variety of earlier studies. However, research about discrimination by street-level bureaucrats has more mixed findings. To contribute to our knowledge about bureaucratic discrimination we conducted a study that followed up on a prior audit of public housing agencies by Einstein and Glick (2017) by making two significant improvements: we pre-test the names used to ensure that they primari…
Correcting Myopia: Effect of Information Provision on Support for Preparedness Policy
Some scholars argue that the public is generally myopic in their attitudes about disaster preparedness spending, because they prefer to spend money on disaster response rather than preparedness, despite the greater cost effectiveness of the later. Given voters’ general lack of policy information, it is possible that limited support for preparedness comes from lack of information about its efficacy. In this paper, we build on these studies by exam…
Do Name-Based Treatments Violate Information Equivalence? Evidence from a Correspondence Audit Experiment
Name-based treatments have been used in observational studies and experiments to study the differential effect of identity—commonly race or ethnic minority status. These treatments are typically assumed to signal only a single characteristic. If names unintentionally signal other characteristics, then the treatment can violate information equivalence, and estimated treatment effects cannot be attributed to the desired characteristic alone. Using …
Do More Professionalized Legislatures Discriminate Less? The Role of Staffers in Constituency Service
Research suggests that organizational structure can influence the ability of actors to discriminate. In this research note, we examine whether the structure of state legislatures affects observed discrimination in correspondent audit studies. We find that increased legislative professionalization is associated with reduced discrimination against racial minorities. By analyzing thousands of emails collected in a prior study, we find that legislati…
Coordination, Communication, and Information: How Network Structure and Knowledge Affect Group Behavior
Communication is central to solving coordination problems in politics. In this paper, we show that both the communication network and what people know about the network structure affect coordination. Increases in the number of connections between people make coordination easier and so does increasing the amount of information people have about the structure. We also demonstrate that highly connected nodes in the network can facilitate coordinatio…
The Effects of Certain and Uncertain Incentives on Effort and Knowledge Accuracy
In many situations, incentives exist to acquire knowledge and make correct political decisions. We conduct an experiment that contributes to a small but growing literature on incentives and political knowledge, testing the effect of certain and uncertain incentives on knowledge. Our experiment builds on the basic theoretical point that acquiring and using information is costly, and incentives for accurate answers will lead respondents to expend g…
Racial Identity and Voting: Conceptualizing White Identity in Spatial Terms
Recent political events have prompted an examination of the analytical tools and conceptual frameworks used in political science to understand voting and candidate choice. Scholars in the behavioral tradition have highlighted the empirical relationship between racial resentment and anti-black affect among white voters during and after President Obama’s successful run for re-election. The theoretical role of white identity within the context of th…
Case Studies and Analytic Transparency in Causal-Oriented Mixed-Methods Research
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Pathway Analysis and the Search for Causal Mechanisms
The study of causal mechanisms interests scholars across the social sciences. Case studies can be a valuable tool in developing knowledge and hypotheses about how causal mechanisms function. The usefulness of case studies in the search for causal mechanisms depends on effective case selection, and there are few existing guidelines for selecting cases to study causal mechanisms. We outline a general approach for selecting cases for pathway analysi…
Finding Pathways: Mixed-Method Research for Studying Causal Mechanisms
Social scientists have identified a need to move beyond the analysis of correlation among variables to the study of causal mechanisms that link them. Nicholas Weller and Jeb Barnes propose that a solution lies in 'pathway analysis', the use of case studies to explore the causal links between related variables. This book focuses on how the small-N component of multi-method research can meaningfully contribute and add value to the study of causal m…
Knowledge and networks: An experimental test of how network knowledge affects coordination
Income taxation and the validity of state capacity indicators
State capacity is a key concept for research in public policy and political science. Despite its importance, there is no broadly accepted measure of state capacity in the existing literature, and frequently used measures of capacity have not been examined for their validity. We begin with an explicit definition of state capacity – the state's ability to implement public policy – and connect this definition to a measurable outcome of state capacit…
Diffusion in Direct Democracy: The Effect of Political Information on Proposals for Tax and Expenditure Limits in the U.S. States
Many theories of policy diffusion contend that the flow of information is the driving force in the diffusion process. Prior scholarship has identified at least two types of information: information about policy and information about political viability. Few empirical approaches have been able to distinguish between these separate mechanisms. The authors argue that an analysis of policy proposals can untangle political information from policy-base…
Trading policy: Constituents and party in U.S. trade policy
Connected Coordination: Network Structure and Group Coordination
Networks can affect a group’s ability to solve a coordination problem. We use laboratory experiments to study the conditions under which groups of participants can solve coordination games. We investigate a variety of different network structures, and we also investigate coordination games with symmetric and asymmetric payoffs. Our results show that network connections facilitate coordination in both symmetric and asymmetric games. Most significa…
Do Name-Based Treatments Violate Information Equivalence? Evidence from a Correspondence Audit Experiment
Name-based treatments have been used in observational studies and experiments to study the differential effect of identity—commonly race or ethnic minority status. These treatments are typically assumed to signal only a single characteristic. If names unintentionally signal other characteristics, then the treatment can violate information equivalence, and estimated treatment effects cannot be attributed to the desired characteristic alone. Using …
Income taxation and the validity of state capacity indicators
State capacity is a key concept for research in public policy and political science. Despite its importance, there is no broadly accepted measure of state capacity in the existing literature, and frequently used measures of capacity have not been examined for their validity. We begin with an explicit definition of state capacity – the state's ability to implement public policy – and connect this definition to a measurable outcome of state capacit…
Racial Identity and Voting: Conceptualizing White Identity in Spatial Terms
Recent political events have prompted an examination of the analytical tools and conceptual frameworks used in political science to understand voting and candidate choice. Scholars in the behavioral tradition have highlighted the empirical relationship between racial resentment and anti-black affect among white voters during and after President Obama’s successful run for re-election. The theoretical role of white identity within the context of th…
Diffusion in Direct Democracy: The Effect of Political Information on Proposals for Tax and Expenditure Limits in the U.S. States
Many theories of policy diffusion contend that the flow of information is the driving force in the diffusion process. Prior scholarship has identified at least two types of information: information about policy and information about political viability. Few empirical approaches have been able to distinguish between these separate mechanisms. The authors argue that an analysis of policy proposals can untangle political information from policy-base…
Do More Professionalized Legislatures Discriminate Less? The Role of Staffers in Constituency Service
Research suggests that organizational structure can influence the ability of actors to discriminate. In this research note, we examine whether the structure of state legislatures affects observed discrimination in correspondent audit studies. We find that increased legislative professionalization is associated with reduced discrimination against racial minorities. By analyzing thousands of emails collected in a prior study, we find that legislati…
Pathway Analysis and the Search for Causal Mechanisms
The study of causal mechanisms interests scholars across the social sciences. Case studies can be a valuable tool in developing knowledge and hypotheses about how causal mechanisms function. The usefulness of case studies in the search for causal mechanisms depends on effective case selection, and there are few existing guidelines for selecting cases to study causal mechanisms. We outline a general approach for selecting cases for pathway analysi…
Connected Coordination: Network Structure and Group Coordination
Networks can affect a group’s ability to solve a coordination problem. We use laboratory experiments to study the conditions under which groups of participants can solve coordination games. We investigate a variety of different network structures, and we also investigate coordination games with symmetric and asymmetric payoffs. Our results show that network connections facilitate coordination in both symmetric and asymmetric games. Most significa…
Trading policy: Constituents and party in U.S. trade policy
The Substantive Effects of Descriptive Representation: Gay and Lesbian Members of Congress Are More Supportive of Gay Rights
The descriptive representation of stigmatized groups has numerous benefits both to group members and society at large. We study the extent to which LGB members of the US Congress provide increased support for LGBT rights. While LGBT substantive representation has been studied extensively, descriptive representation has been examined extensively at only the local and state levels. The absence of research at the federal level is important because f…
Case Studies and Analytic Transparency in Causal-Oriented Mixed-Methods Research
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Trading policy: Constituents and party in U.S. trade policy
Connected Coordination: Network Structure and Group Coordination
Networks can affect a group’s ability to solve a coordination problem. We use laboratory experiments to study the conditions under which groups of participants can solve coordination games. We investigate a variety of different network structures, and we also investigate coordination games with symmetric and asymmetric payoffs. Our results show that network connections facilitate coordination in both symmetric and asymmetric games. Most significa…
Diffusion in Direct Democracy: The Effect of Political Information on Proposals for Tax and Expenditure Limits in the U.S. States
Many theories of policy diffusion contend that the flow of information is the driving force in the diffusion process. Prior scholarship has identified at least two types of information: information about policy and information about political viability. Few empirical approaches have been able to distinguish between these separate mechanisms. The authors argue that an analysis of policy proposals can untangle political information from policy-base…
Finding Pathways: Mixed-Method Research for Studying Causal Mechanisms
Social scientists have identified a need to move beyond the analysis of correlation among variables to the study of causal mechanisms that link them. Nicholas Weller and Jeb Barnes propose that a solution lies in 'pathway analysis', the use of case studies to explore the causal links between related variables. This book focuses on how the small-N component of multi-method research can meaningfully contribute and add value to the study of causal m…
Knowledge and networks: An experimental test of how network knowledge affects coordination
Income taxation and the validity of state capacity indicators
State capacity is a key concept for research in public policy and political science. Despite its importance, there is no broadly accepted measure of state capacity in the existing literature, and frequently used measures of capacity have not been examined for their validity. We begin with an explicit definition of state capacity – the state's ability to implement public policy – and connect this definition to a measurable outcome of state capacit…
Pathway Analysis and the Search for Causal Mechanisms
The study of causal mechanisms interests scholars across the social sciences. Case studies can be a valuable tool in developing knowledge and hypotheses about how causal mechanisms function. The usefulness of case studies in the search for causal mechanisms depends on effective case selection, and there are few existing guidelines for selecting cases to study causal mechanisms. We outline a general approach for selecting cases for pathway analysi…
Case Studies and Analytic Transparency in Causal-Oriented Mixed-Methods Research
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Racial Identity and Voting: Conceptualizing White Identity in Spatial Terms
Recent political events have prompted an examination of the analytical tools and conceptual frameworks used in political science to understand voting and candidate choice. Scholars in the behavioral tradition have highlighted the empirical relationship between racial resentment and anti-black affect among white voters during and after President Obama’s successful run for re-election. The theoretical role of white identity within the context of th…
Coordination, Communication, and Information: How Network Structure and Knowledge Affect Group Behavior
Communication is central to solving coordination problems in politics. In this paper, we show that both the communication network and what people know about the network structure affect coordination. Increases in the number of connections between people make coordination easier and so does increasing the amount of information people have about the structure. We also demonstrate that highly connected nodes in the network can facilitate coordinatio…
The Effects of Certain and Uncertain Incentives on Effort and Knowledge Accuracy
In many situations, incentives exist to acquire knowledge and make correct political decisions. We conduct an experiment that contributes to a small but growing literature on incentives and political knowledge, testing the effect of certain and uncertain incentives on knowledge. Our experiment builds on the basic theoretical point that acquiring and using information is costly, and incentives for accurate answers will lead respondents to expend g…
Do More Professionalized Legislatures Discriminate Less? The Role of Staffers in Constituency Service
Research suggests that organizational structure can influence the ability of actors to discriminate. In this research note, we examine whether the structure of state legislatures affects observed discrimination in correspondent audit studies. We find that increased legislative professionalization is associated with reduced discrimination against racial minorities. By analyzing thousands of emails collected in a prior study, we find that legislati…
Do Name-Based Treatments Violate Information Equivalence? Evidence from a Correspondence Audit Experiment
Name-based treatments have been used in observational studies and experiments to study the differential effect of identity—commonly race or ethnic minority status. These treatments are typically assumed to signal only a single characteristic. If names unintentionally signal other characteristics, then the treatment can violate information equivalence, and estimated treatment effects cannot be attributed to the desired characteristic alone. Using …
Do Public Housing Agencies Discriminate Against Latinos?: A Large-Scale Replication Study to Assess Discrimination
Discrimination by political elites has been identified in a variety of earlier studies. However, research about discrimination by street-level bureaucrats has more mixed findings. To contribute to our knowledge about bureaucratic discrimination we conducted a study that followed up on a prior audit of public housing agencies by Einstein and Glick (2017) by making two significant improvements: we pre-test the names used to ensure that they primari…
Correcting Myopia: Effect of Information Provision on Support for Preparedness Policy
Some scholars argue that the public is generally myopic in their attitudes about disaster preparedness spending, because they prefer to spend money on disaster response rather than preparedness, despite the greater cost effectiveness of the later. Given voters’ general lack of policy information, it is possible that limited support for preparedness comes from lack of information about its efficacy. In this paper, we build on these studies by exam…
The Substantive Effects of Descriptive Representation: Gay and Lesbian Members of Congress Are More Supportive of Gay Rights
The descriptive representation of stigmatized groups has numerous benefits both to group members and society at large. We study the extent to which LGB members of the US Congress provide increased support for LGBT rights. While LGBT substantive representation has been studied extensively, descriptive representation has been examined extensively at only the local and state levels. The absence of research at the federal level is important because f…
Police as Policymakers: How Experiences With Policy Implementation Shape Policy Representation
Scholars of political representation have focused primarily on congruence between public preferences and enacted legislation, paying less attention to how policies are actually delivered by street-level bureaucrats in face-to-face encounters with citizens. This approach obscures the possibility that individuals may nonetheless have divergent perceptions of implemented policy that, in turn, inform their political attitudes. We examine this argumen…
Communities of transformation: An example from the museum field
Working-Class Legislators, Bill Writing, and Introduction: Limited Evidence of Substantive Representation in Congress
Few groups are as poorly represented in Congress relative to their prevalence in the population as are members of the working-class. While working-class members of Congress vote more economically liberally than do other members, the extent to which they are more likely to introduce or write legislation to benefit the working-class is unknown. We test whether legislators from a working-class background provide better substantive representation of …
Computer Science (9 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Economics (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Mathematics (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Sociology (5 works)