Adam R Brown
Biographic Data
| ID | 4124194 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adam R Brown |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adam R |
| FAMILY NAME | Brown |
| SIGNATURE | BROWN A R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Brigham Young University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6004-8597 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 228 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Constitutional Recency and Support for Judicial Review
Under what conditions are people more likely to support judicial invalidation of legislative acts? We theorize that constitutional recency confers greater democratic legitimacy on constitutional provisions, reducing concerns that judges may use dated language to impose their own will on a living majority. Exploiting differences among US state constitutions, we show in a pre-registered vignette experiment and conjoint analysis that Americans are m…
Comparing Three Measures of Legislative Professionalism
We evaluate three measures of state legislative professionalism: Squire’s (1992) index that measures professionalism relative to the US House, Bowen and Greene’s (2014b) two-dimensional scaling, and legislative operating expenditures per member, an older measure that remains in occasional use. Replications of 18 recent articles show that these three measures regularly produce significantly different estimates of the effect of professionalism, par…
Bicameralism Hinges on Legislative Professionalism
Bicameralism is a nearly universal feature of American legislatures, yet its functional impact on legislative outcomes is uncertain. Proponents have claimed that bicameralism would produce better outcomes than unicameralism, as adding a deliberative element prevents the passage of faulty legislation. For bicameralism to work in this fashion, we argue lawmakers must have enough time and resources to meaningfully evaluate legislation produced by th…
Bacterial efflux inhibitors are widely distributed in land plants
Mechanical Turk and the “Don’t Know” Option
Luskin and Bullock’s (2011) randomized experiment on live-interview respondents found no evidence that American National Election Studies and Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences respondents hide knowledge behind the “don’t know” (DK) option. We successfully replicated their finding using two online platforms, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study and Google Surveys. However, we obtained different results on Amazon’s Mechanical…
Measuring and Manipulating Constitutional Evaluations in the States
American civil religion places the U.S. Constitution on a pedestal. Although this veneration is well-documented, it is unclear where it originates and why other constitutions do not attract the same reverence. We develop a measure of constitutional respect and conduct a randomized survey experiment testing whether new information can change respondents’ evaluations of their state or national constitutions. We find that people do respond to new in…
The Role of Constitutional Features in Judicial Review
American state constitutions vary tremendously in their length, amendment rate, and age. These three variables—especially the first two—strongly influence the rate at which state supreme courts strike down state actions for violating the state constitution. Longer, more detailed constitutions reduce policy flexibility, increasing judicial invalidations; rarely updated constitutions may fail to address modern concerns, increasing invalidations; an…
Why do Legislators Skip Votes? Position Taking Versus Policy Influence
The challenge of local party brand differentiation
In the USA, the two major parties put great effort into defining their national brands by publishing platforms, engaging social media, and so on. Given the immense regional differences in American politics and culture, however, these national brands are unsurprisingly more popular in some places than others. Local Republican and Democratic parties therefore have incentives to develop their own local brands, distinct from the national party’s. The…
Traditional Botanical Knowledge of the Plain Mennonites
This study quantifies the culinary and medicinal botanical knowledge of the Old Order or Plain Mennonites in eastern Pennsylvania, a religious group which chooses to reject certain elements of modern technology. The study tests the hypothesis that time, geography, and degree of religious conservatism impact the retention of botanical knowledge. Historical cookbooks and medical texts were combined with data from modern interviews to identify usefu…
Voters Don't Care Much About Incumbency
US House incumbents enjoy profound electoral advantages, yet existing research has not asked whether individual voters actually prefer incumbents over newcomers, other things being equal. Instead, existing research has focused on showing that other things are not equal by emphasizing the structural advantages that incumbents enjoy. Political scientists, economists, and pundits have frequently speculated that voters either reward or punish incumbe…
Does Money Buy Votes? The Case of Self-Financed Gubernatorial Candidates, 1998–2008
The Item Veto's Sting
Despite lofty expectations from the item veto's proponents (and fears from its opponents), formal models have suggested that the item veto is unlikely to have much effect beyond what a full veto could render. However, I show that different findings obtain when item vetoes are appreciated more fully as a dimensionality-reducing institution. I begin by developing a package veto model in a generalized multidimensional space. I then show how introduc…
Losing to nobody? Nevada's “none of these candidates” ballot reform
Since 1975, Nevada voters have had the option of voting for "none of these candidates" in all statewide elections—a reform that one-third of the American states have since considered copying. It remains unclear, however, what effects this reform has had. By testing several arguments made by proponents and opponents of this reform, I find, first, that voters who actually choose "none of these" are motivated by a mixture of ignorance and protest; s…
Wikipedia as a Data Source for Political Scientists
In only 10 years, Wikipedia has risen from obscurity to become the dominant information source for an entire generation. However, any visitor can edit any page on Wikipedia, which hardly fosters confidence in its accuracy. In this article, I review thousands of Wikipedia articles about candidates, elections, and officeholders to assess both the accuracy and the thoroughness of Wikipedia's coverage. I find that Wikipedia is almost always accurate …
Twitter
The rapid rise of Twitter and other social media tools has enticed many members of Congress to personally use these services. Such waves of technological adoption are comparatively rare in Congressional history, leaving us with little knowledge about why some members of Congress adopt new technologies while others do not. We find that Twitter adoption and use are relatively difficult to predict. Members are more likely to use Twitter if they belo…
Are Governors Responsible for the State Economy? Partisanship, Blame, and Divided Federalism
In the United States, voters directly elect dozens of politicians: presidents, governors, legislators, mayors, and so on. How do voters decide which politician to blame for which policy outcomes? Previous research on gubernatorial approval has suggested that voters divide policy blame between governors and the president based on each office's "functional responsibilities"—requiring that responsibilities are clear cut, which is seldom true. Using …
Party, Performance, and Strategic Politicians
In this article, we analyze a unique set of state-level monthly survey data covering the eighteen months preceding the 2006 election to estimate (1) the relative effects of national and local conditions on the strength of challenges to incumbent senators and governors and (2) the effects of these challenges on incumbent popularity and, ultimately, vote shares. The analysis confirms several of the basic components of the theory that the strategic …
Un governo immaginato
Journal Article Un governo immaginato: l'universo politico di Franceso Guicciardini Get access Alison Brown Alison Brown Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume 117, Issue 474, November 2002, Pages 1331–1332, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/117.474.1331 Published: 01 November 2002
Twitter
The rapid rise of Twitter and other social media tools has enticed many members of Congress to personally use these services. Such waves of technological adoption are comparatively rare in Congressional history, leaving us with little knowledge about why some members of Congress adopt new technologies while others do not. We find that Twitter adoption and use are relatively difficult to predict. Members are more likely to use Twitter if they belo…
Are Governors Responsible for the State Economy? Partisanship, Blame, and Divided Federalism
In the United States, voters directly elect dozens of politicians: presidents, governors, legislators, mayors, and so on. How do voters decide which politician to blame for which policy outcomes? Previous research on gubernatorial approval has suggested that voters divide policy blame between governors and the president based on each office's "functional responsibilities"—requiring that responsibilities are clear cut, which is seldom true. Using …
Why do Legislators Skip Votes? Position Taking Versus Policy Influence
Does Money Buy Votes? The Case of Self-Financed Gubernatorial Candidates, 1998–2008
Party, Performance, and Strategic Politicians
In this article, we analyze a unique set of state-level monthly survey data covering the eighteen months preceding the 2006 election to estimate (1) the relative effects of national and local conditions on the strength of challenges to incumbent senators and governors and (2) the effects of these challenges on incumbent popularity and, ultimately, vote shares. The analysis confirms several of the basic components of the theory that the strategic …
Wikipedia as a Data Source for Political Scientists
In only 10 years, Wikipedia has risen from obscurity to become the dominant information source for an entire generation. However, any visitor can edit any page on Wikipedia, which hardly fosters confidence in its accuracy. In this article, I review thousands of Wikipedia articles about candidates, elections, and officeholders to assess both the accuracy and the thoroughness of Wikipedia's coverage. I find that Wikipedia is almost always accurate …
Bicameralism Hinges on Legislative Professionalism
Bicameralism is a nearly universal feature of American legislatures, yet its functional impact on legislative outcomes is uncertain. Proponents have claimed that bicameralism would produce better outcomes than unicameralism, as adding a deliberative element prevents the passage of faulty legislation. For bicameralism to work in this fashion, we argue lawmakers must have enough time and resources to meaningfully evaluate legislation produced by th…
Losing to nobody? Nevada's “none of these candidates” ballot reform
Since 1975, Nevada voters have had the option of voting for "none of these candidates" in all statewide elections—a reform that one-third of the American states have since considered copying. It remains unclear, however, what effects this reform has had. By testing several arguments made by proponents and opponents of this reform, I find, first, that voters who actually choose "none of these" are motivated by a mixture of ignorance and protest; s…
The Item Veto's Sting
Despite lofty expectations from the item veto's proponents (and fears from its opponents), formal models have suggested that the item veto is unlikely to have much effect beyond what a full veto could render. However, I show that different findings obtain when item vetoes are appreciated more fully as a dimensionality-reducing institution. I begin by developing a package veto model in a generalized multidimensional space. I then show how introduc…
The Role of Constitutional Features in Judicial Review
American state constitutions vary tremendously in their length, amendment rate, and age. These three variables—especially the first two—strongly influence the rate at which state supreme courts strike down state actions for violating the state constitution. Longer, more detailed constitutions reduce policy flexibility, increasing judicial invalidations; rarely updated constitutions may fail to address modern concerns, increasing invalidations; an…
Mechanical Turk and the “Don’t Know” Option
Luskin and Bullock’s (2011) randomized experiment on live-interview respondents found no evidence that American National Election Studies and Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences respondents hide knowledge behind the “don’t know” (DK) option. We successfully replicated their finding using two online platforms, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study and Google Surveys. However, we obtained different results on Amazon’s Mechanical…
Measuring and Manipulating Constitutional Evaluations in the States
American civil religion places the U.S. Constitution on a pedestal. Although this veneration is well-documented, it is unclear where it originates and why other constitutions do not attract the same reverence. We develop a measure of constitutional respect and conduct a randomized survey experiment testing whether new information can change respondents’ evaluations of their state or national constitutions. We find that people do respond to new in…
Voters Don't Care Much About Incumbency
US House incumbents enjoy profound electoral advantages, yet existing research has not asked whether individual voters actually prefer incumbents over newcomers, other things being equal. Instead, existing research has focused on showing that other things are not equal by emphasizing the structural advantages that incumbents enjoy. Political scientists, economists, and pundits have frequently speculated that voters either reward or punish incumbe…
Un governo immaginato
Journal Article Un governo immaginato: l'universo politico di Franceso Guicciardini Get access Alison Brown Alison Brown Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume 117, Issue 474, November 2002, Pages 1331–1332, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/117.474.1331 Published: 01 November 2002
Party, Performance, and Strategic Politicians
In this article, we analyze a unique set of state-level monthly survey data covering the eighteen months preceding the 2006 election to estimate (1) the relative effects of national and local conditions on the strength of challenges to incumbent senators and governors and (2) the effects of these challenges on incumbent popularity and, ultimately, vote shares. The analysis confirms several of the basic components of the theory that the strategic …
Twitter
The rapid rise of Twitter and other social media tools has enticed many members of Congress to personally use these services. Such waves of technological adoption are comparatively rare in Congressional history, leaving us with little knowledge about why some members of Congress adopt new technologies while others do not. We find that Twitter adoption and use are relatively difficult to predict. Members are more likely to use Twitter if they belo…
Are Governors Responsible for the State Economy? Partisanship, Blame, and Divided Federalism
In the United States, voters directly elect dozens of politicians: presidents, governors, legislators, mayors, and so on. How do voters decide which politician to blame for which policy outcomes? Previous research on gubernatorial approval has suggested that voters divide policy blame between governors and the president based on each office's "functional responsibilities"—requiring that responsibilities are clear cut, which is seldom true. Using …
Losing to nobody? Nevada's “none of these candidates” ballot reform
Since 1975, Nevada voters have had the option of voting for "none of these candidates" in all statewide elections—a reform that one-third of the American states have since considered copying. It remains unclear, however, what effects this reform has had. By testing several arguments made by proponents and opponents of this reform, I find, first, that voters who actually choose "none of these" are motivated by a mixture of ignorance and protest; s…
Wikipedia as a Data Source for Political Scientists
In only 10 years, Wikipedia has risen from obscurity to become the dominant information source for an entire generation. However, any visitor can edit any page on Wikipedia, which hardly fosters confidence in its accuracy. In this article, I review thousands of Wikipedia articles about candidates, elections, and officeholders to assess both the accuracy and the thoroughness of Wikipedia's coverage. I find that Wikipedia is almost always accurate …
The Item Veto's Sting
Despite lofty expectations from the item veto's proponents (and fears from its opponents), formal models have suggested that the item veto is unlikely to have much effect beyond what a full veto could render. However, I show that different findings obtain when item vetoes are appreciated more fully as a dimensionality-reducing institution. I begin by developing a package veto model in a generalized multidimensional space. I then show how introduc…
Does Money Buy Votes? The Case of Self-Financed Gubernatorial Candidates, 1998–2008
Traditional Botanical Knowledge of the Plain Mennonites
This study quantifies the culinary and medicinal botanical knowledge of the Old Order or Plain Mennonites in eastern Pennsylvania, a religious group which chooses to reject certain elements of modern technology. The study tests the hypothesis that time, geography, and degree of religious conservatism impact the retention of botanical knowledge. Historical cookbooks and medical texts were combined with data from modern interviews to identify usefu…
Voters Don't Care Much About Incumbency
US House incumbents enjoy profound electoral advantages, yet existing research has not asked whether individual voters actually prefer incumbents over newcomers, other things being equal. Instead, existing research has focused on showing that other things are not equal by emphasizing the structural advantages that incumbents enjoy. Political scientists, economists, and pundits have frequently speculated that voters either reward or punish incumbe…
The challenge of local party brand differentiation
In the USA, the two major parties put great effort into defining their national brands by publishing platforms, engaging social media, and so on. Given the immense regional differences in American politics and culture, however, these national brands are unsurprisingly more popular in some places than others. Local Republican and Democratic parties therefore have incentives to develop their own local brands, distinct from the national party’s. The…
Why do Legislators Skip Votes? Position Taking Versus Policy Influence
The Role of Constitutional Features in Judicial Review
American state constitutions vary tremendously in their length, amendment rate, and age. These three variables—especially the first two—strongly influence the rate at which state supreme courts strike down state actions for violating the state constitution. Longer, more detailed constitutions reduce policy flexibility, increasing judicial invalidations; rarely updated constitutions may fail to address modern concerns, increasing invalidations; an…
Measuring and Manipulating Constitutional Evaluations in the States
American civil religion places the U.S. Constitution on a pedestal. Although this veneration is well-documented, it is unclear where it originates and why other constitutions do not attract the same reverence. We develop a measure of constitutional respect and conduct a randomized survey experiment testing whether new information can change respondents’ evaluations of their state or national constitutions. We find that people do respond to new in…
Bacterial efflux inhibitors are widely distributed in land plants
Mechanical Turk and the “Don’t Know” Option
Luskin and Bullock’s (2011) randomized experiment on live-interview respondents found no evidence that American National Election Studies and Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences respondents hide knowledge behind the “don’t know” (DK) option. We successfully replicated their finding using two online platforms, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study and Google Surveys. However, we obtained different results on Amazon’s Mechanical…
Constitutional Recency and Support for Judicial Review
Under what conditions are people more likely to support judicial invalidation of legislative acts? We theorize that constitutional recency confers greater democratic legitimacy on constitutional provisions, reducing concerns that judges may use dated language to impose their own will on a living majority. Exploiting differences among US state constitutions, we show in a pre-registered vignette experiment and conjoint analysis that Americans are m…
Comparing Three Measures of Legislative Professionalism
We evaluate three measures of state legislative professionalism: Squire’s (1992) index that measures professionalism relative to the US House, Bowen and Greene’s (2014b) two-dimensional scaling, and legislative operating expenditures per member, an older measure that remains in occasional use. Replications of 18 recent articles show that these three measures regularly produce significantly different estimates of the effect of professionalism, par…
Bicameralism Hinges on Legislative Professionalism
Bicameralism is a nearly universal feature of American legislatures, yet its functional impact on legislative outcomes is uncertain. Proponents have claimed that bicameralism would produce better outcomes than unicameralism, as adding a deliberative element prevents the passage of faulty legislation. For bicameralism to work in this fashion, we argue lawmakers must have enough time and resources to meaningfully evaluate legislation produced by th…
Law (17 works) · Political science (17 works) · Law (13 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (12 works) · Economics (11 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Psychology (6 works) · State (computer science (6 works) · Judicial and Constitutional Studies (5 works)