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• CHAPTERS
• 1. Introduction: They Tax Dogs in West Virginia, Don’t They?
• 2. Federalism: The Power Plan
• 3. Constitutions: Operating Instructions
• 4. Political Attitudes and Participation: Venting and Voting
• 5. Parties and Interest Groups: Elephants, Donkeys, and Cash Cows
• 6. Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats
• 7. Governors and Executives: There Is No Such Thing As Absolute Power
• 8. Courts: Turning Law into Politics
• 9. Bureaucracy: What Nobody Wants but Everybody Needs
• 10. Local Government: Function Follows Form
• 11. Metropolitics: The Hole Government Problem
• 12. Finances: Filling the Till and Paying the Bills
• 13. Education: Reading, Writing, and Regulation
• 14. Crime and Punishment
• 15. Health and Welfare Policy: State, Heal Thyself!
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Chapter 1: Introduction

Study

Chapter Summary
Whether you realize it or not, state and local governments affect your life on a daily basis. They provide basic services such as garbage and snow removal, determine the amount of money you pay in property taxes, and set standards for early and secondary education. However, not all states are equal in terms of the amount of resources they have available. Economic indicators, geography, sociodemographics, political history, and political culture all affect how states collect revenues, and thereby affect policy outcomes. In particular, political culture, or citizens’ beliefs about the appropriate role of government, has a direct impact on the organizational structure of states and localities. Such beliefs tend to vary significantly within and between states, however. To systematically explain such variance between states and localities, Chapter 1 introduces the comparative method.

Citizens increasingly trust state and local governments (instead of the federal government) to design and administer public policy programs, and the federal government has been granting states more discretionary power through the process of devolution. As such, states have more authority over the level of policy experimentation and policy innovation within the American political system, leading some to refer to the states as “laboratories of democracy.” However, other factors, including the level of organized interest group activity and the rules and composition of the legislature, affect the actual level of policy innovation within a state. To appropriately study such variation requires a methodological tool capable of systematically examining differences between and among similar units. Again, the comparative method provides a useful analytical tool for explaining such differences.

Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should understand…

• the comparative method
• what factors contribute to policy differences between, among, and within states
• how moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic political cultures differ
• the process of devolution
• why the states are considered “laboratories of democracy”
• what factors affect the ability of states to serve as “laboratories of democracy”
• why some states are more innovative in terms of public policy than others
• the power relationship between states and localities

Study Questions

1. What is the comparative method, and how is it useful for understanding variance between and among the states?


2. Discuss factors that contribute to policy differences between, among, and within states.

3. Compare and contrast the three types of political culture. Why is an understanding of political culture important for understanding state and local politics?

4. What is devolution? Why are the states called “laboratories of democracy”?

5. Why are some states more innovative than others when it comes to public policy making?