John Gerring | Boston University (original) (raw)

Papers by John Gerring

American Journal of Political Science, 2007

Methods are usually classified as either "experimental" or "observational," a dichotomy that has ... more Methods are usually classified as either "experimental" or "observational," a dichotomy that has governed social science research for centuries. By implication, this dichotomization precludes a consideration of experimental strategies in case study work. Yet, we argue that one gains purchase on the tasks of research design by integrating the criteria traditionally applied to experimental work to all research in the social sciences-including case study work, the focus of this article. Experimental research designs aim to achieve variation through time and across space while maintaining ceteris paribus assumptions, thus maximizing leverage into the fundamental problem of causal inference. We propose to capture these multiple criteria in a four-fold typology:

Disponible chez l'éditeur (délai d&a... more Disponible chez l'éditeur (délai d'approvisionnement : 10 jours). ... 1. The conundrum of the case study, Part I. Thinking about Case Studies: 2. What is a case study?: The Problem of Definition, 3. What is a case study good for?: case study versus Large-N cross-case Analysis, Part II. Doing Case Studies: 4. Preliminaries, 5. Techniques for choosing cases with Jason Seawright, 6. Internal validity: an experimental template with Rose McDermott, 7. Internal validity: singular observations with Craig Thomas, Epilogue: single-outcome studies.

American Political Science Review, 2004

Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What I... more Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? JOHN GERRING Boston University ...

American Political Science Review, 1994

Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What I... more Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? JOHN GERRING Boston University ...

Political Research Quarterly, 2008

Abstract How can scholars select cases from a large universe for in-depth case study analysis? Ra... more Abstract How can scholars select cases from a large universe for in-depth case study analysis? Random sampling is not typically a viable approach when the total number of cases to be selected is small. Hence attention to purposive modes of sampling is needed. Yet, while the existing qualitative literature on case selection offers a wide range of suggestions for case selection, most techniques discussed require in-depth familiarity of each case. Seven case selection procedures are considered, each of which facilitates a ...

Party Politics, 2005

Present research on minor party performance consists largely of singlecountry studies or pooled s... more Present research on minor party performance consists largely of singlecountry studies or pooled studies including a raft of widely varying electoral systems. This study examines the topic from a cross-national perspective, but is limited to democratic polities with single-member districts and first-past-the-post rules. An original dataset is compiled including 217 elections drawn from 37 countries and several historical eras. Five political-institutional factors are explored: (1) federalism, (2) presidentialism, (3) electoral system institutionalization, (4) party organization, and (5) electoral volatility. The evidence suggests that major party hegemony is more complete in polities with unitary constitutions, parliamentary executives, long-enduring electoral systems, strong party organization and low electoral volatility.

International Organization, 2005

This article probes the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and political corruptio... more This article probes the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and political corruption, focusing in particular on the impact of trade and investment policies, regulatory policy, and the overall size of the public sector on corruption. Using a large cross-national data set from the mid-to late 1990s, we test the neoliberal hypotheses that market-oriented economic policies are associated with lower levels of political corruption, and state intervention in the economy with higher levels. Consistent with the neoliberal argument, ...

American Political Science Review, 2005

We are grateful for comments and suggestions received from participants in seminars at Brown Univ... more We are grateful for comments and suggestions received from participants in seminars at Brown University, Cornell University, Duke University, Princeton University, and the University of Leuven-la-Neuve (Belgium), where various versions of this paper were presented. For shared data, feedback, and good counsel we would like to acknowledge Yesnowitz provided critical research assistance at the final stages. We are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments and suggestions. The standard disclaimers apply. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the generous financial support that we have received from the Institute for Advanced Study (Gerring), the Hoover Institution (Thacker), and the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University.

Comparative Political Studies, 2009

The institutional differences between presidential and parliamentary rule are well known, yet the... more The institutional differences between presidential and parliamentary rule are well known, yet the practical effects of these divergent constitutional arrangements within democratic polities have received scant attention. This article employs a global data set to test the relationship between a historical measure of parliamentary rule and 14 indicators ranging across three policy areas: political development, economic development, and human development. The study revealed a strong relationship between parliamentarism and good governance, particularly in the latter two policy areas. To the extent that these institutions influence the quality of governance, parliamentary systems may offer advantages over presidential systems of democratic rule.

Business and Politics, 2009

Do neoliberal economic policies help or hinder human development? Many have argued that such poli... more Do neoliberal economic policies help or hinder human development? Many have argued that such policies promote economic stability and growth, which may have indirect positive effects on human welfare. Others claim that neoliberal policies retard human development. We argue that neoliberal economic policies may improve the human welfare in ways that are independent of their effects on economic performance. Specifically, this paper hypothesizes that open international trade policies, low-inflation macroeconomic environments, and market-oriented property rights regimes promote human development across the world. We test this argument by examining the impact of several measures of neoliberal policies on infant mortality rates across the world between 1960 and 1999. Results suggest that openness to imports, long-term membership in the GATT and WTO, low rates of inflation, and effective contract enforcement are each associated with lower rates of infant mortality across the world, even when controlling for countries' economic performance.

British Journal of Political Science, 2004

A raft of new research on the causes and effects of political corruption has emerged in recent ye... more A raft of new research on the causes and effects of political corruption has emerged in recent years, in tandem with a separate, growing focus on the effects of political institutions on important outcomes such as economic growth, social equality and political stability. Yet we know little about the possible role of different political institutional arrangements on political corruption. This article examines the impact of territorial sovereignty (unitary or federal) and the composition of the executive (parliamentary or presidential) on levels of perceived political corruption cross-nationally. We find that unitary and parliamentary forms of government help reduce levels of corruption. To explain this result, we explore a series of seven potential causal mechanisms that emerge out of the competing centralist and decentralist theoretical paradigms: (1) openness, transparency and information costs, (2) intergovernmental competition, (3) localism, (4) party competition, (5) decision rules, (6) collective action problems, and public administration. Our empirical findings and our analysis of causal mechanisms suggest that centralized constitutions help foster lower levels of political corruption.

Does democracy improve the quality of life for its citizens? Scholars have long assumed that it d... more Does democracy improve the quality of life for its citizens? Scholars have long assumed that it does, but recent research has called this orthodoxy into question. This article reviews this body of work, develops a series of causal pathways through which democracy might improve social welfare, and tests two hypotheses: (a) that a country's level of democracy in a given year affects its level of human development and (b) that its stock of democracy over the past century affects its level of human development. Using infant mortality rates as a core measure of human development, we conduct a series of time-series-cross-national statistical tests of these two hypotheses. We find only slight evidence for the first proposition, but substantial support for the second. Thus, we argue that the best way to think about the relationship between democracy and development is as a time-dependent, historical phenomenon.

World Politics, 2005

D OES regime type affect economic performance? The predominant view is that democracy has either ... more D OES regime type affect economic performance? The predominant view is that democracy has either a negative effect on GDP growth or no overall effect. Countries with authoritarian political systems are thus predicted to grow as rapidly as democracies, perhaps even faster. To be sure, democracy may have some positive indirect effects-for example, greater stability or more extensive property rights. The econometric evidence suggests, however, that these positives are balanced by negatives such that the net effect of democracy on growth performance cross-nationally over the last five decades is negative or null. 1 For the most part, case study approaches to this question confirm the results of *For comments and suggestions we are grateful to

Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2003

ABSTRACT This article proposes a `min±max' strategy of de®nition applicable to all con-cepts... more ABSTRACT This article proposes a `min±max' strategy of de®nition applicable to all con-cepts intended for general usage within some language region. The min±max strategy relies on the conjoined use of minimal and ideal-type de®nitions. A minimal de®nition identi®es the ...

American Journal of Political Science, 2007

Methods are usually classified as either "experimental" or "observational," a dichotomy that has ... more Methods are usually classified as either "experimental" or "observational," a dichotomy that has governed social science research for centuries. By implication, this dichotomization precludes a consideration of experimental strategies in case study work. Yet, we argue that one gains purchase on the tasks of research design by integrating the criteria traditionally applied to experimental work to all research in the social sciences-including case study work, the focus of this article. Experimental research designs aim to achieve variation through time and across space while maintaining ceteris paribus assumptions, thus maximizing leverage into the fundamental problem of causal inference. We propose to capture these multiple criteria in a four-fold typology:

Disponible chez l'éditeur (délai d&a... more Disponible chez l'éditeur (délai d'approvisionnement : 10 jours). ... 1. The conundrum of the case study, Part I. Thinking about Case Studies: 2. What is a case study?: The Problem of Definition, 3. What is a case study good for?: case study versus Large-N cross-case Analysis, Part II. Doing Case Studies: 4. Preliminaries, 5. Techniques for choosing cases with Jason Seawright, 6. Internal validity: an experimental template with Rose McDermott, 7. Internal validity: singular observations with Craig Thomas, Epilogue: single-outcome studies.

American Political Science Review, 2004

Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What I... more Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? JOHN GERRING Boston University ...

American Political Science Review, 1994

Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What I... more Page 1. American Political Science Review Vol. 98, No. 2 May 2004 What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? JOHN GERRING Boston University ...

Political Research Quarterly, 2008

Abstract How can scholars select cases from a large universe for in-depth case study analysis? Ra... more Abstract How can scholars select cases from a large universe for in-depth case study analysis? Random sampling is not typically a viable approach when the total number of cases to be selected is small. Hence attention to purposive modes of sampling is needed. Yet, while the existing qualitative literature on case selection offers a wide range of suggestions for case selection, most techniques discussed require in-depth familiarity of each case. Seven case selection procedures are considered, each of which facilitates a ...

Party Politics, 2005

Present research on minor party performance consists largely of singlecountry studies or pooled s... more Present research on minor party performance consists largely of singlecountry studies or pooled studies including a raft of widely varying electoral systems. This study examines the topic from a cross-national perspective, but is limited to democratic polities with single-member districts and first-past-the-post rules. An original dataset is compiled including 217 elections drawn from 37 countries and several historical eras. Five political-institutional factors are explored: (1) federalism, (2) presidentialism, (3) electoral system institutionalization, (4) party organization, and (5) electoral volatility. The evidence suggests that major party hegemony is more complete in polities with unitary constitutions, parliamentary executives, long-enduring electoral systems, strong party organization and low electoral volatility.

International Organization, 2005

This article probes the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and political corruptio... more This article probes the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and political corruption, focusing in particular on the impact of trade and investment policies, regulatory policy, and the overall size of the public sector on corruption. Using a large cross-national data set from the mid-to late 1990s, we test the neoliberal hypotheses that market-oriented economic policies are associated with lower levels of political corruption, and state intervention in the economy with higher levels. Consistent with the neoliberal argument, ...

American Political Science Review, 2005

We are grateful for comments and suggestions received from participants in seminars at Brown Univ... more We are grateful for comments and suggestions received from participants in seminars at Brown University, Cornell University, Duke University, Princeton University, and the University of Leuven-la-Neuve (Belgium), where various versions of this paper were presented. For shared data, feedback, and good counsel we would like to acknowledge Yesnowitz provided critical research assistance at the final stages. We are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments and suggestions. The standard disclaimers apply. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the generous financial support that we have received from the Institute for Advanced Study (Gerring), the Hoover Institution (Thacker), and the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University.

Comparative Political Studies, 2009

The institutional differences between presidential and parliamentary rule are well known, yet the... more The institutional differences between presidential and parliamentary rule are well known, yet the practical effects of these divergent constitutional arrangements within democratic polities have received scant attention. This article employs a global data set to test the relationship between a historical measure of parliamentary rule and 14 indicators ranging across three policy areas: political development, economic development, and human development. The study revealed a strong relationship between parliamentarism and good governance, particularly in the latter two policy areas. To the extent that these institutions influence the quality of governance, parliamentary systems may offer advantages over presidential systems of democratic rule.

Business and Politics, 2009

Do neoliberal economic policies help or hinder human development? Many have argued that such poli... more Do neoliberal economic policies help or hinder human development? Many have argued that such policies promote economic stability and growth, which may have indirect positive effects on human welfare. Others claim that neoliberal policies retard human development. We argue that neoliberal economic policies may improve the human welfare in ways that are independent of their effects on economic performance. Specifically, this paper hypothesizes that open international trade policies, low-inflation macroeconomic environments, and market-oriented property rights regimes promote human development across the world. We test this argument by examining the impact of several measures of neoliberal policies on infant mortality rates across the world between 1960 and 1999. Results suggest that openness to imports, long-term membership in the GATT and WTO, low rates of inflation, and effective contract enforcement are each associated with lower rates of infant mortality across the world, even when controlling for countries' economic performance.

British Journal of Political Science, 2004

A raft of new research on the causes and effects of political corruption has emerged in recent ye... more A raft of new research on the causes and effects of political corruption has emerged in recent years, in tandem with a separate, growing focus on the effects of political institutions on important outcomes such as economic growth, social equality and political stability. Yet we know little about the possible role of different political institutional arrangements on political corruption. This article examines the impact of territorial sovereignty (unitary or federal) and the composition of the executive (parliamentary or presidential) on levels of perceived political corruption cross-nationally. We find that unitary and parliamentary forms of government help reduce levels of corruption. To explain this result, we explore a series of seven potential causal mechanisms that emerge out of the competing centralist and decentralist theoretical paradigms: (1) openness, transparency and information costs, (2) intergovernmental competition, (3) localism, (4) party competition, (5) decision rules, (6) collective action problems, and public administration. Our empirical findings and our analysis of causal mechanisms suggest that centralized constitutions help foster lower levels of political corruption.

Does democracy improve the quality of life for its citizens? Scholars have long assumed that it d... more Does democracy improve the quality of life for its citizens? Scholars have long assumed that it does, but recent research has called this orthodoxy into question. This article reviews this body of work, develops a series of causal pathways through which democracy might improve social welfare, and tests two hypotheses: (a) that a country's level of democracy in a given year affects its level of human development and (b) that its stock of democracy over the past century affects its level of human development. Using infant mortality rates as a core measure of human development, we conduct a series of time-series-cross-national statistical tests of these two hypotheses. We find only slight evidence for the first proposition, but substantial support for the second. Thus, we argue that the best way to think about the relationship between democracy and development is as a time-dependent, historical phenomenon.

World Politics, 2005

D OES regime type affect economic performance? The predominant view is that democracy has either ... more D OES regime type affect economic performance? The predominant view is that democracy has either a negative effect on GDP growth or no overall effect. Countries with authoritarian political systems are thus predicted to grow as rapidly as democracies, perhaps even faster. To be sure, democracy may have some positive indirect effects-for example, greater stability or more extensive property rights. The econometric evidence suggests, however, that these positives are balanced by negatives such that the net effect of democracy on growth performance cross-nationally over the last five decades is negative or null. 1 For the most part, case study approaches to this question confirm the results of *For comments and suggestions we are grateful to

Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2003

ABSTRACT This article proposes a `min±max' strategy of de®nition applicable to all con-cepts... more ABSTRACT This article proposes a `min±max' strategy of de®nition applicable to all con-cepts intended for general usage within some language region. The min±max strategy relies on the conjoined use of minimal and ideal-type de®nitions. A minimal de®nition identi®es the ...