Kenneth C Williams
Biographic Data
| ID | 3628664 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kenneth C Williams |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kenneth C |
| FAMILY NAME | Williams |
| SIGNATURE | WILLIAMS K C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 76 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1958 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
The Effects of Identities, Incentives, and Information on Voting
We report on majority voting experiments where subjects are randomly assigned identities in common with a candidate. However, subjects sometimes receive a financial incentive from voting contrary to their identity. We vary the size of the incentive as well as information voters have about the advantage of the incentive. We find that subjects are influenced by their assigned identities, and the effect is stronger when voters have less information.…
Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab
Increasingly, political scientists use the term 'experiment' or 'experimental' to describe their empirical research. One of the primary reasons for doing so is the advantage of experiments in establishing causal inferences. In this book, Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams discuss in detail how experiments and experimental reasoning with observational data can help researchers determine causality. They explore how control and random assignm…
A Principal-Agent Model of Elections with Novice Incumbents: Some Experimental Results
The efficient aggregation of information is a prerequisite for the operation of a democratic system. In order for political office-holders to act responsively so that policy outcomes reflect public sentiments, sufficient levels of information about their actions must be aggregated within the electorate. This is fundamental since very few citizens will be aware of the office-holder’s actions. One way in which information is aggregated is through p…
Information Asymmetries and Simultaneous versus Sequential Voting
Sequential voting takes place when some voters make choices with knowledge of earlier decisions in the same election. Historically, voting in U.S. presidential primaries is sequential, but recent primaries have been "front-loaded" into the early weeks of the season. We explore sequential voting in drawn-out primaries and simultaneous voting in front-loaded ones theoretically and use laboratory elections to examine our predictions empirically. We …
Spatial elections with endorsements and uninformed voters: Some laboratory experiments
Sequential Elections and Retrospective Voting: Some Laboratory Experiments
Retrospective considerations do influence vote choice. But the manner in which voters incorporate retrospective evaluations is still an empirical question. This essay compares two voting rules: a traditional retrospective rule and a retrospective-prospective rule. The rules are differentiated based on the information costs associated with each. It is assumed that the traditional retrospective rule is less costly since voters need only make evalua…
The Decline of Private Bills: Resource Allocation, Credit Claiming, and the Decision to Delegate
In this analysis, we examine how resources and credit-claiming opportunities influence congressional decisions to delegate authority. We review the potential for conflict between institutional (or collective) and individual incentives for delegation, suggesting that this conflict inhibited Congress's attempts to manage the work load created by private claims legislation. Specifically, until an increase in resources created alternative opportuniti…
Retrospective voting: An experimental study
Predicting Success in Beginning High School Algebra
The study to be reported here was undertaken during the 1957-1958 academic year at Sparks High School, Sparks, Nevada, and had as its aim the identification of variables which would predict success or failure in first year algebra. At the start of the school year there were a number of educational measurements made for each ninth grade student. Three of the measurements were scores on standardized tests: (a) The Otis Quick Scoring Mental Ability …
Information Asymmetries and Simultaneous versus Sequential Voting
Sequential voting takes place when some voters make choices with knowledge of earlier decisions in the same election. Historically, voting in U.S. presidential primaries is sequential, but recent primaries have been "front-loaded" into the early weeks of the season. We explore sequential voting in drawn-out primaries and simultaneous voting in front-loaded ones theoretically and use laboratory elections to examine our predictions empirically. We …
The Effects of Identities, Incentives, and Information on Voting
We report on majority voting experiments where subjects are randomly assigned identities in common with a candidate. However, subjects sometimes receive a financial incentive from voting contrary to their identity. We vary the size of the incentive as well as information voters have about the advantage of the incentive. We find that subjects are influenced by their assigned identities, and the effect is stronger when voters have less information.…
The Decline of Private Bills: Resource Allocation, Credit Claiming, and the Decision to Delegate
In this analysis, we examine how resources and credit-claiming opportunities influence congressional decisions to delegate authority. We review the potential for conflict between institutional (or collective) and individual incentives for delegation, suggesting that this conflict inhibited Congress's attempts to manage the work load created by private claims legislation. Specifically, until an increase in resources created alternative opportuniti…
Retrospective voting: An experimental study
Sequential Elections and Retrospective Voting: Some Laboratory Experiments
Retrospective considerations do influence vote choice. But the manner in which voters incorporate retrospective evaluations is still an empirical question. This essay compares two voting rules: a traditional retrospective rule and a retrospective-prospective rule. The rules are differentiated based on the information costs associated with each. It is assumed that the traditional retrospective rule is less costly since voters need only make evalua…
Spatial elections with endorsements and uninformed voters: Some laboratory experiments
A Principal-Agent Model of Elections with Novice Incumbents: Some Experimental Results
The efficient aggregation of information is a prerequisite for the operation of a democratic system. In order for political office-holders to act responsively so that policy outcomes reflect public sentiments, sufficient levels of information about their actions must be aggregated within the electorate. This is fundamental since very few citizens will be aware of the office-holder’s actions. One way in which information is aggregated is through p…
Predicting Success in Beginning High School Algebra
The study to be reported here was undertaken during the 1957-1958 academic year at Sparks High School, Sparks, Nevada, and had as its aim the identification of variables which would predict success or failure in first year algebra. At the start of the school year there were a number of educational measurements made for each ninth grade student. Three of the measurements were scores on standardized tests: (a) The Otis Quick Scoring Mental Ability …
Retrospective voting: An experimental study
The Decline of Private Bills: Resource Allocation, Credit Claiming, and the Decision to Delegate
In this analysis, we examine how resources and credit-claiming opportunities influence congressional decisions to delegate authority. We review the potential for conflict between institutional (or collective) and individual incentives for delegation, suggesting that this conflict inhibited Congress's attempts to manage the work load created by private claims legislation. Specifically, until an increase in resources created alternative opportuniti…
Spatial elections with endorsements and uninformed voters: Some laboratory experiments
Sequential Elections and Retrospective Voting: Some Laboratory Experiments
Retrospective considerations do influence vote choice. But the manner in which voters incorporate retrospective evaluations is still an empirical question. This essay compares two voting rules: a traditional retrospective rule and a retrospective-prospective rule. The rules are differentiated based on the information costs associated with each. It is assumed that the traditional retrospective rule is less costly since voters need only make evalua…
Information Asymmetries and Simultaneous versus Sequential Voting
Sequential voting takes place when some voters make choices with knowledge of earlier decisions in the same election. Historically, voting in U.S. presidential primaries is sequential, but recent primaries have been "front-loaded" into the early weeks of the season. We explore sequential voting in drawn-out primaries and simultaneous voting in front-loaded ones theoretically and use laboratory elections to examine our predictions empirically. We …
A Principal-Agent Model of Elections with Novice Incumbents: Some Experimental Results
The efficient aggregation of information is a prerequisite for the operation of a democratic system. In order for political office-holders to act responsively so that policy outcomes reflect public sentiments, sufficient levels of information about their actions must be aggregated within the electorate. This is fundamental since very few citizens will be aware of the office-holder’s actions. One way in which information is aggregated is through p…
Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab
Increasingly, political scientists use the term 'experiment' or 'experimental' to describe their empirical research. One of the primary reasons for doing so is the advantage of experiments in establishing causal inferences. In this book, Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams discuss in detail how experiments and experimental reasoning with observational data can help researchers determine causality. They explore how control and random assignm…
The Effects of Identities, Incentives, and Information on Voting
We report on majority voting experiments where subjects are randomly assigned identities in common with a candidate. However, subjects sometimes receive a financial incentive from voting contrary to their identity. We vary the size of the incentive as well as information voters have about the advantage of the incentive. We find that subjects are influenced by their assigned identities, and the effect is stronger when voters have less information.…
Political science (8 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Game Theory and Voting Systems (5 works) · Mathematics (5 works) · Microeconomics (5 works)