Jan 01, 1999 By Craig Volden Asymmetric Effects of Intergovernmental Grants: Analysis and Implications for U.S. Welfare Policy Theories of federal grants to states and localities suggest that these grants have a stimulative effect on spending, causing recipient governments to expand and contract programs along with changes in the grants. However, policymakers may respond differently to grant decreases than to grant increases because they face political and bureaucratic pressures to expand programs. These asymmetric reactions may depend on specific political structures. Pooled time-series regressions of data from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program across 46 states from 1965 to 1994 demonstrate state government responses to grant changes. Bureaucratic pressures and proposals lead slates to expand their welfare benefits upon increases in federal grants, but not to contract them upon decreases in federal grants. With regard to the 1996 welfare reforms, this study indicates that the switch to block grants will lead to little or no state reduction in welfare payments. http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a030037?rskey=PLH… The Journal of Federalism Craig Volden Craig Volden is a professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia, with appointments in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Department of Politics. He studies the politics of public policy, with a focus on what policy choices arise within legislative institutions and within American federalism. He is founder and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Read full bio Related Content Craig Volden Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success Research Are effective state lawmakers more likely than ineffective state lawmakers to be elected to Congress? Our findings offer important insights into how American federalism contributes to representation by effective lawmakers. The Primary Path for Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success Research Effective lawmakers are the workhorses of the US Congress, yet we know little about the electoral payoffs of their efforts. Are effective lawmakers better at warding off challengers in the next election? Do they win at a greater rate? How Effective are America’s State Legislators? News The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion. Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Science Conferences News The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University.
Craig Volden Craig Volden is a professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia, with appointments in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Department of Politics. He studies the politics of public policy, with a focus on what policy choices arise within legislative institutions and within American federalism. He is founder and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Read full bio
Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success Research Are effective state lawmakers more likely than ineffective state lawmakers to be elected to Congress? Our findings offer important insights into how American federalism contributes to representation by effective lawmakers.
The Primary Path for Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success Research Effective lawmakers are the workhorses of the US Congress, yet we know little about the electoral payoffs of their efforts. Are effective lawmakers better at warding off challengers in the next election? Do they win at a greater rate?
How Effective are America’s State Legislators? News The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion.
Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Science Conferences News The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University.