Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T03:50:59.163Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Patronage and Elections in U.S. States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2011

OLLE FOLKE*
Affiliation:
Columbia University
SHIGEO HIRANO*
Affiliation:
Columbia University
JAMES M. SNYDER JR.*
Affiliation:
Harvard University
*
Olle Folke is Assistant Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and Affiliated Researcher, IFN Stockholm, 420 W. 118th Street, New York, NY 10027 ([email protected]).
Shigeo Hirano is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Columbia University, 420 W. 118th Street, New York, NY 10027 ([email protected]).
James M. Snyder, Jr. is Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University, and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 ([email protected]).

Abstract

Does control of patronage jobs significantly increase a political party's chances of winning elections in U.S. states? We employ a differences-in-differences design, exploiting the considerable variation in the dates that different states adopted civil service reforms. Our evidence suggests that political parties in U.S. states were able to use state-level patronage to increase the probability of maintaining control of state legislatures and statewide elective offices. We also find that an “entrenched” party, in power for a longer time, can use patronage more effectively. We consider several alternative hypotheses that might plausibly account for the patterns in the data, but find no evidence to support them.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ansolabehere, Stephen, and Snyder, James M. Jr. 2002. “Incumbency Advantages in the States: An Analysis of State and Federal Offices, 1942–2000.Election Law Journal 1: 315–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aronson, Albert H. 1979. “State and Local Personnel Administration.” In Classics of Public Personnel Policy, ed. Thompson, Frank J.. Oak Park, IL: Moore Publishing, 102–11.Google Scholar
Berry, Curtis R. 2000. “Developments in Personnel/Human Resources Management in State Government.” In Handbook of State Government Administration, ed. Gargan, John J.. New York: Dekker, 177219.Google Scholar
Carpenter, William Seal, and Stafford, Paul Tutt. 1936. State and Local Government in the United States. New York: Crofts.Google Scholar
Civil Service Assembly of the United States and Canada. 1940. “Civil Service Agencies in the United States: A 1940 Census.” Pamphlet 16.Google Scholar
Cleary, Robert E. 1960. “Gubernatorial Leadership and State Policy on Desegregation in Public Higher Education.Phylon 27: 165–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Council of State Governments (CSG). 1935–80. The Book of the States. Lexington, KY: CSG.Google Scholar
Dubin, Michael J. 2007. Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures: A Year by Year Summary, 1796–2006. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.Google Scholar
Folke, Olle, Shigeo, Hirano, Snyder, James M., and Ting, Michael. 2011. “Elections and Reform: The Adoption of Civil Service Systems in the U.S. States.” Columbia University. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Gordon, Oakley, Richardson, Reed, and Williams, J. D.. 1962. Personnel Management in Utah State Government. Research Monograph 6, Institute of Government, University of Utah.Google Scholar
Holley, Carl E. 1986. “Carl E. Bailey, the Merit System, and Arkansas Politics, 1936–1939.Arkansas Historical Quarterly 45: 291320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jewell, Malcolm E. 1962. The State Legislature: Politics and Practice. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Johnson, Ronald N., and Libecap, Gray D.. 1994. The Federal Civil Service System and the Problem of Bureaucracy: The Economics and Politics of Institutional Chnage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, Michael. 1979. “Patrons and Clients, Jobs and Machines: A Case Study of the Uses of Patronage.” American Political Science Review 73 (2): 385–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kammerer, Gladys M. 1954. “The Governor as Chief Administrator in Kentucky.” Journal of Politics 16 (2): 236–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kearney, Richard C. 2001. Labor Relations in the Public Sector. New York: Dekker.Google Scholar
Keefe, William J. 1966. “The Functions and Powers of the State Legislature.” In State Legislatures in American Politics, ed. Heard, Alexander. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 3769.Google Scholar
Kernell, Samuel, and McDonald, Michael P.. 1999. “Congress and America's Political Development: The Transformation of the Post Office from Patronage to Service.American Journal of Political Science 43: 792811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V. O. 1964. Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups. 5th ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.Google Scholar
Klingner, Donald E. 2006. “Societal Values and Civil Service Systems in the United States.” In Civil Service Reform in the States: Personnel Policy and Politics at the Subnational Level, eds. Kellough, J. Edward and Nigro, Lloyd G.. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1133.Google Scholar
Knott, Jack H., and Miller, Gary J.. 1987. Reforming Bureaucracy: The Politic of Institutional Choice, Englewoods Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Kramer, Leo. 1962. Labor's Paradox. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Larson, James E. 1968. “South Carolina Legislature.” In Southeastern State Legislatures in American Politics. Atlanta, GA: Emory University School of Law.Google Scholar
Lee, David. 2008. “Randomized Experiments from Non-random Selection in U.S. House Elections.” Journal of Econometrics 142 (2): 675–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maranto, Robert, and Johnson, Jeremy. 2007. “Bringing Back Boss Tweed: Could At-will Employment Work in State and Local Government and, If So, Where?” In American Public Service: Radical Reform and the Merit System, eds. Bowman, James S. and West, Jonathan P.. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 1986. Placing Parties in American Politics: Organization, Electoral Settings, and Government Activity in the Twentieth Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKean, David. 1949. Party and Pressure Politics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Merriam, Charles E., and Gosnell, Harold F.. 1949. The American Party System. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Mueller, Hannes. 2009. “Patronage or Meritocracy: Political Institutions and Bureaucratic Efficiency.” Spanish National Research Council. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Nixon, H. C. 1948. “The Southern Legislature and Legislation.” Journal of Politics 10: 410–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollock, James K. 1937. “The Cost of the Patronage System.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 189: 2934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primo, David M., and Snyder, James M. Jr. 2010. “Party Strength, the Personal Vote, and Government Spending.American Journal of Political Science 54: 354–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, Joseph D., and Kurth, Michael M.. 1988Public Employees in Political Firms: A. The Patronage Era.” Public Choice 59: 253–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, Joseph D., and Kurth, Michael M.. 1988Public Employees in Political Firms: B. Civil Service and Militancy.” Public Choice 60: 4154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roady, Elston E., and Dauer, Manning J.. 1968. “The Florida Legislature.” In Southeastern State Legislatures in American Politics, ed Cornelius, William G.. Atlanta, GA: Emory University School of Law, 2246.Google Scholar
Sorauf, Frank J. 1956. “State Patronage in a Rural County.” American Political Science Review 50 (4): 1046–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorauf, Frank J. 1959. “Patronage and Party.” Midwest Journal of Political Science 3 (2): 115–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorauf, Frank J. 1960. “The Silent Revolution in Patronage?Public Administration Review 20 (Winter): 2834.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theriault, Sean. 2003. “Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and the Power of the People.Journal of Politics 65: 5068.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trounstine, Jessica. 2007. “Modern Machines: Patronage, Information and Incumbency in Local Elections.” Princeton University. Unpublished manuscript.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, Joseph B. 1969. “The Administration of a State Patronage System: The Democratic Party in Illinois.Western Political Quarterly 22: 7984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, James Q. 1961. “The Economy of Patronage.” Journal of Political Economy 69 (4): 369–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E., and Rosenstone, Steven J.. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Zink, Harold. 1951. Government and Politics in the United States. New York: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.