Jason S Byers
Biographic Data
| ID | 4179906 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jason S Byers |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jason S |
| FAMILY NAME | Byers |
| SIGNATURE | BYERS J S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Connecticut |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0922-5949 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Political Change and Federal Prosecutor Communications
In this study, we provide a first-of-its-kind exploration of how strategic messaging by U.S. Attorneys changes during a partisan transition. We leverage original data from United States Attorney’s Office press releases that are used to inform the public about important case developments, offering a window into federal prosecutorial priorities and narratives. Using textual analysis, we examine how these political communications changed in the turn…
Stop the Steal” Sentenced
This study examines whether the political appointment of federal judges influenced the sentencing of individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Using a novel dataset covering the full population of nearly 1,500 defendants with charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, we leverage random case assignment procedures to better understand the sentences that were imposed for each defen…
The electoral connection, state attorneys general, and the dynamics of incarceration rates
In the USA states, there is substantial institutional variation among executive branch administrative officials, with state executive branch offices varying by their selection method. Prior scholarship has devoted little attention to the policy implications of this institutional variation. In this article, we explore the consequences of this administrative characteristic by examining state attorneys general. We develop the theoretical rationale t…
Still Doin’ Time
A vast body of work investigates the consequences of legislative term limits for public policy. However, considerably less research has delved into their effects in noneconomic policy domains. In this article, we develop the argument that implemented term limits increase the effect that a state government’s ideology has on the state’s incarceration rate. When analyzing incarceration rates among all states between 1979 and 2017, we find evidence t…
Can’t buy me love? An experiment on the relationship between federal grant spending and public approval of federal agencies
Previous research finds that grant spending can improve the standing of politicians and institutions with some in the public. It is unclear whether this effect holds for federal agencies as well, which are largely responsible for allocating these funds. We develop a theory that links agency grant spending to the likelihood of an individual supporting the awarding federal agency, with the expectation that this relationship is conditioned by the ci…
Proponents, Caretakers, and the Dynamics of Administrative Leadership Turnover in U.S. Executive Agencies
Administrative leader turnover adversely affects the organizational stability of U.S. federal executive agencies, as well as undermines presidents’ policy goals. An incentive compatibility theory of administrative leader turnover is proposed that distinguishes between proponent (policy priority) versus caretaker (non-policy priority) loyalist executive appointees. This theory predicts that the proponents’ tenure will be comparatively more stable …
What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations
Students of legislative politics are divided over the relationship between electoral vulnerability and the type of “home style” members of Congress adopt in terms of their district staffing decisions. The conventional wisdom asserts that an increase in electoral vulnerability corresponds with a legislator increasing the number of district staffers. However, another body of works implies that the inverse relationship should occur. To settle these …
Confirmation Dynamics
Confirmation delay is decomposed to better understand both when and why the Senate augments its efforts to vet presidential nominees. Distinctions among expedited, normal, and protracted confirmation processes are analyzed, as well as those between the work of Senate standing committees and chamber floor. A theory of ex ante moral hazard reduction is proposed that predicts as the confirmation process becomes increasingly protracted in response to…
We Have It Totally Under Control? Exploring the Effects of Ideology and Knowing Someone Diagnosed With Covid-19 on Evaluations of President Trump’s Leadership on the Pandemic
President Donald Trump has made various decisions, many controversial, to manage the coronavirus pandemic. The reaction to President Trump’s leadership has been met with a mixed response from the public. This raises an important question; what factors influence a citizen’s evaluation of President Trump’s response to the pandemic? We develop a theory that links a citizen knowing someone diagnosed with COVID-19 with their evaluation of President Tr…
Position Taking on the President’s Agenda
Policymaking by the Executive
Politicians routinely campaign on a large platform of new policies and policy changes they hope to pursue once in office. Presidents, however, are unique in their ability to accomplish this given the multiple avenues by which they can enact policy change. Using each presidential agenda between 1964 and 2010, we evaluate the circumstances under which a president's policy goal is realized via an executive order or a law passed by Congress. Previous…
Trump and the Republican Congress
This essay highlights the challenges faced by the Trump Administration during the first 8 months of his presidency despite unified Republican control of both chambers of Congress. It begins by focusing briefly on the lead-up to the 2016 election before turning to the struggles the administration has faced in enacting policies since inauguration. The essay concludes with a look ahead at the 2018 midterm elections and the implications for the remai…
Policymaking by the Executive
Politicians routinely campaign on a large platform of new policies and policy changes they hope to pursue once in office. Presidents, however, are unique in their ability to accomplish this given the multiple avenues by which they can enact policy change. Using each presidential agenda between 1964 and 2010, we evaluate the circumstances under which a president's policy goal is realized via an executive order or a law passed by Congress. Previous…
What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations
Students of legislative politics are divided over the relationship between electoral vulnerability and the type of “home style” members of Congress adopt in terms of their district staffing decisions. The conventional wisdom asserts that an increase in electoral vulnerability corresponds with a legislator increasing the number of district staffers. However, another body of works implies that the inverse relationship should occur. To settle these …
Confirmation Dynamics
Confirmation delay is decomposed to better understand both when and why the Senate augments its efforts to vet presidential nominees. Distinctions among expedited, normal, and protracted confirmation processes are analyzed, as well as those between the work of Senate standing committees and chamber floor. A theory of ex ante moral hazard reduction is proposed that predicts as the confirmation process becomes increasingly protracted in response to…
Trump and the Republican Congress
This essay highlights the challenges faced by the Trump Administration during the first 8 months of his presidency despite unified Republican control of both chambers of Congress. It begins by focusing briefly on the lead-up to the 2016 election before turning to the struggles the administration has faced in enacting policies since inauguration. The essay concludes with a look ahead at the 2018 midterm elections and the implications for the remai…
Trump and the Republican Congress
This essay highlights the challenges faced by the Trump Administration during the first 8 months of his presidency despite unified Republican control of both chambers of Congress. It begins by focusing briefly on the lead-up to the 2016 election before turning to the struggles the administration has faced in enacting policies since inauguration. The essay concludes with a look ahead at the 2018 midterm elections and the implications for the remai…
Policymaking by the Executive
Politicians routinely campaign on a large platform of new policies and policy changes they hope to pursue once in office. Presidents, however, are unique in their ability to accomplish this given the multiple avenues by which they can enact policy change. Using each presidential agenda between 1964 and 2010, we evaluate the circumstances under which a president's policy goal is realized via an executive order or a law passed by Congress. Previous…
We Have It Totally Under Control? Exploring the Effects of Ideology and Knowing Someone Diagnosed With Covid-19 on Evaluations of President Trump’s Leadership on the Pandemic
President Donald Trump has made various decisions, many controversial, to manage the coronavirus pandemic. The reaction to President Trump’s leadership has been met with a mixed response from the public. This raises an important question; what factors influence a citizen’s evaluation of President Trump’s response to the pandemic? We develop a theory that links a citizen knowing someone diagnosed with COVID-19 with their evaluation of President Tr…
Position Taking on the President’s Agenda
Confirmation Dynamics
Confirmation delay is decomposed to better understand both when and why the Senate augments its efforts to vet presidential nominees. Distinctions among expedited, normal, and protracted confirmation processes are analyzed, as well as those between the work of Senate standing committees and chamber floor. A theory of ex ante moral hazard reduction is proposed that predicts as the confirmation process becomes increasingly protracted in response to…
Proponents, Caretakers, and the Dynamics of Administrative Leadership Turnover in U.S. Executive Agencies
Administrative leader turnover adversely affects the organizational stability of U.S. federal executive agencies, as well as undermines presidents’ policy goals. An incentive compatibility theory of administrative leader turnover is proposed that distinguishes between proponent (policy priority) versus caretaker (non-policy priority) loyalist executive appointees. This theory predicts that the proponents’ tenure will be comparatively more stable …
What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations
Students of legislative politics are divided over the relationship between electoral vulnerability and the type of “home style” members of Congress adopt in terms of their district staffing decisions. The conventional wisdom asserts that an increase in electoral vulnerability corresponds with a legislator increasing the number of district staffers. However, another body of works implies that the inverse relationship should occur. To settle these …
Can’t buy me love? An experiment on the relationship between federal grant spending and public approval of federal agencies
Previous research finds that grant spending can improve the standing of politicians and institutions with some in the public. It is unclear whether this effect holds for federal agencies as well, which are largely responsible for allocating these funds. We develop a theory that links agency grant spending to the likelihood of an individual supporting the awarding federal agency, with the expectation that this relationship is conditioned by the ci…
The electoral connection, state attorneys general, and the dynamics of incarceration rates
In the USA states, there is substantial institutional variation among executive branch administrative officials, with state executive branch offices varying by their selection method. Prior scholarship has devoted little attention to the policy implications of this institutional variation. In this article, we explore the consequences of this administrative characteristic by examining state attorneys general. We develop the theoretical rationale t…
Still Doin’ Time
A vast body of work investigates the consequences of legislative term limits for public policy. However, considerably less research has delved into their effects in noneconomic policy domains. In this article, we develop the argument that implemented term limits increase the effect that a state government’s ideology has on the state’s incarceration rate. When analyzing incarceration rates among all states between 1979 and 2017, we find evidence t…
Political Change and Federal Prosecutor Communications
In this study, we provide a first-of-its-kind exploration of how strategic messaging by U.S. Attorneys changes during a partisan transition. We leverage original data from United States Attorney’s Office press releases that are used to inform the public about important case developments, offering a window into federal prosecutorial priorities and narratives. Using textual analysis, we examine how these political communications changed in the turn…
Stop the Steal” Sentenced
This study examines whether the political appointment of federal judges influenced the sentencing of individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Using a novel dataset covering the full population of nearly 1,500 defendants with charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, we leverage random case assignment procedures to better understand the sentences that were imposed for each defen…
Political science (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (8 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Law (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Economics (5 works) · Public Administration (5 works) · Legislature (4 works)