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Papers by John Matsusaka
ERN: Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, 2021
Do voters see democracy entirely as a game of self-interest in which one person’s gain is another... more Do voters see democracy entirely as a game of self-interest in which one person’s gain is another’s loss, or do they also view it as a search for the common good, as some democracy theorists have long conjectured? Existing empirical research that assumes entirely private interests cannot answer this question, by design. We develop an empirical model in which voters derive utility from both common-good and private considerations, and show formally how to disentangle the two preference components. We estimate the model on California ballot propositions from 1986 to 2020, and find that 46 to 87 percent of voters place significant weight on the common-good aspects of proposals. Common-good concerns mitigate the effects of voter polarization, which we find substantially increased over out study period - particularly in the last six years.
97th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science …, 2001
Institutional provisions for popular initiatives differ with respect to the possibilities they of... more Institutional provisions for popular initiatives differ with respect to the possibilities they offer the legislature to react to direct legislation. In states with direct initiatives (19), the legislature cannot react directly to an initiative proposal once it has been qualified. In ...
National Tax Journal, 2001
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2003
Perspectives on Politics, 2005
Brazilian Review of Finance, 2013
As research academics we spend a substantial amount of time reviewing papers for scholarly journa... more As research academics we spend a substantial amount of time reviewing papers for scholarly journals. While not as important as publishing our own research, the quality of our work as referees is important, both for our profession and for our success as scholars. This note presents some suggestions for writing good referee reports.
Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process rem... more Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process remains controversial. One of the most recurrent criticisms is that the initiative allows well organized and well financed special interests to subvert the policy process. This article reports some scientific evidence on the subversion hypothesis. For the period 19872000, the evidence shows that the initiative changed the course of state and local fiscal policy, but that the changes were consistent with the wishes of the majority. None of the evidence supports the subversion hypothesis. May 2003
Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 2009
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016
Direct Democracy’s Impact on American Political Institutions, 2008
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process rem... more Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process remains controversial. One of the most recurrent criticisms is that the initiative allows well organized and well financed special interests to subvert the policy process. This article reports some scientific evidence on the subversion hypothesis. For the period 1987-2000, the evidence shows that the initiative changed the course of state and local fiscal policy, but that the changes were consistent with the wishes of the majority. None of the evidence supports the subversion hypothesis.
ERN: Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, 2021
Do voters see democracy entirely as a game of self-interest in which one person’s gain is another... more Do voters see democracy entirely as a game of self-interest in which one person’s gain is another’s loss, or do they also view it as a search for the common good, as some democracy theorists have long conjectured? Existing empirical research that assumes entirely private interests cannot answer this question, by design. We develop an empirical model in which voters derive utility from both common-good and private considerations, and show formally how to disentangle the two preference components. We estimate the model on California ballot propositions from 1986 to 2020, and find that 46 to 87 percent of voters place significant weight on the common-good aspects of proposals. Common-good concerns mitigate the effects of voter polarization, which we find substantially increased over out study period - particularly in the last six years.
97th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science …, 2001
Institutional provisions for popular initiatives differ with respect to the possibilities they of... more Institutional provisions for popular initiatives differ with respect to the possibilities they offer the legislature to react to direct legislation. In states with direct initiatives (19), the legislature cannot react directly to an initiative proposal once it has been qualified. In ...
National Tax Journal, 2001
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2003
Perspectives on Politics, 2005
Brazilian Review of Finance, 2013
As research academics we spend a substantial amount of time reviewing papers for scholarly journa... more As research academics we spend a substantial amount of time reviewing papers for scholarly journals. While not as important as publishing our own research, the quality of our work as referees is important, both for our profession and for our success as scholars. This note presents some suggestions for writing good referee reports.
Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process rem... more Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process remains controversial. One of the most recurrent criticisms is that the initiative allows well organized and well financed special interests to subvert the policy process. This article reports some scientific evidence on the subversion hypothesis. For the period 19872000, the evidence shows that the initiative changed the course of state and local fiscal policy, but that the changes were consistent with the wishes of the majority. None of the evidence supports the subversion hypothesis. May 2003
Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 2009
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016
Direct Democracy’s Impact on American Political Institutions, 2008
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process rem... more Despite its widespread appeal and long history in American government, the initiative process remains controversial. One of the most recurrent criticisms is that the initiative allows well organized and well financed special interests to subvert the policy process. This article reports some scientific evidence on the subversion hypothesis. For the period 1987-2000, the evidence shows that the initiative changed the course of state and local fiscal policy, but that the changes were consistent with the wishes of the majority. None of the evidence supports the subversion hypothesis.