Unions, Parties, and the Politics of State Government Legacy Cost
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6328575 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Disalvo (0000-0001-5148-2140), Jeffrey Kucik (0000-0002-8184-9027) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 573-597 |
| Publication date | 2018-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/psj.12232 |
| OpenAlex | W2768485469 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 30 |
Many American state governments have made extensive promises to pay for employees’ health care and other benefits in retirement. Currently estimated at over $1 trillion in unfunded liabilities, these other postemployment benefits (OPEB) are creating a major fiscal problem for state governments. In this article, we examine the politics of OPEB. We seek to explain the variation in the generosity of OPEB across U.S. states. We argue that party competition theories do not adequately explain the outcomes we observe. Instead, we draw on the emerging Schattschneiderian approach to the politics of public policy to show that public union strength conditions a party's incentives to represent unions’ interests. In states where public sector unions are strong, unions can find their way into either party's coalition. We find that Republicans are more responsive to public union interests than either their ideological brand or prior research would suggest. It is only in states where public employees are weak that Republicans can act unilaterally and enact their preference for less government spending. To test our theories, we carry out an empirical analysis using a newly assembled data set of per capita OPEB liabilities across 49 states
Competition (biology · Economics · Generosity · Government (linguistics · Ideology · Incentive · Market economy · Per capita · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Sociology · State (computer science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Red State Blues
Determinants of labour market institutions and their reforms from the perspective of economics and political science
Interest groups, local politics, and police unions
Mayor‐Council Form of Government and Policy Responses in Times of Economic Travail
The Unionization of State Government Employees and the Cost of State Government
Pensions in the Trenches
Looking for Influence in All the Wrong Places
State Labor Laws and Government Responsiveness to Public Opinion
Interest Groups on the Inside
What Unions No Longer Do
Why Parties?
Party Position Change in American Politics
An economic theory of democracy
Unions, Voter Turnout, and Class Bias in the U.S. Electorate, 1964–2004
Political Organizations
Democracy for Realists
Public sector employee voter participation and salaries
Union Membership and Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey
From the Schoolhouse to the Statehouse
Public Sector Unions and the Costs of Government
Trouble Keeping Promises? An Analysis of Underfunding in State Retiree Benefits
A Theory of Political Parties
After the “Master Theory
Polarization and Policy
Downs and Two-Party Convergence
State and Local Government Finance
When Government Subsidizes Its Own
Vested Interests and Political Institutions
The Liabilities and Risks of State-Sponsored Pension Plans
The Toughest Beat
The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures
Union Democracy Reexamined
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,13 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |