Seminar Series
- Monday January 22, 4:00-5:30 p.m., Room 398 Lincoln Hall
Joint with the Comparative Politics Group
- Nathan M. Jensen, Department of Political Science, Washington University
Title: "Firm-Level Responses to Politics: Political Institutions and the Operations of U.S. Multinationals"
Bio: Nathan Jensen joined the department of Political Science as an assistant professor in 2002.? He received a B.S.B. from the University of Minnesota in 1998, a M.A., M.Phil, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 2002. His general research interests are international political economy (international finance, international economic institutions), comparative political economy (political business cycles, economic voting, economic reform, federalism) and international relations (civil conflict, international relations theory).
Presentation Abstract: The existing literature linking politics and the investments of multinational corporations concludes that high levels of political risk deter investors from entering into some emerging markets. In this paper I argue that multinationals have multiple tools to manage risks (rather than simply avoiding them). Thus the risks faced by many MNCs are endogenous to the firm?s operations and investment strategies. Specifically, I focus on how multinationals tailor their operations both to minimize political risks and to maximize political influence. Drawing on a confidential data set covering the complete universe of U.S. foreign direct investments abroad, I find that U.S. multinationals restrict the size of their operations in authoritarian regimes relative to democratic regimes in order to minimize the amount of assets at risk. I also find preliminary evidence that firms attempt to increase their political influence by aligning their operations with the preferences of incumbent governments. Specifically, firms increase the number of workers they employ when left-of-center governments come to power.
- Friday November 10, Noon-1:30 p.m., Room 160 English Building
Joint with the Department of Political Science
- William R. Clark, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan
Title: "Aid, Protestant Missionaries, and Growth"
Bio: William Clark's (Ph.D., Rutgers) research explores how political and social institutions can simultaneously be the product of human choice and an important determinant of human behavior. Much of his work has focused on the political control of the macroeconomy in an open economy setting. Specifically, he has examined a) the effect of central bank independence, capital mobility, and fixed exchange rates on monetary and fiscal policy choices made by survival-maximizing incumbents; b) the effect of elections and partisanship on macroeconomic outcomes; and the choice of monetary institutions in a world of mobile capital. He has also done some work on the politics of international trade.
Presentation Abstract: It has been extremely difficult to demonstrate that foreign aid has any positive influence on economic growth. Easterly, Levine and Roodman (2004) challenge that robustness of Burnside and Dollar's (2000) claim that aid is associated with growth when governments enact the right policies. We show that Burnside and Dollar's result disappears entirely when adequate attention is paid either to the correct interpretation of interaction terms or to identification in their two-stage least squares estimations. It appears that state-to-state assistance has not been much help in fostering economic growth in developing countries. Woodbury (2004) identifies a form of non-state cross-border involvement with beneficient effects: protestant missionary activity in the early 20th century encouraging economic development by promoting education, middle class emergence and democratization. We compare the effects of protestant missionary activity to foreign aid flows on economic development, and assess their substitutive and or complementary dimensions using data from Woodberry and Easterly, Levine and Roodman.
- Friday October 20, 3:15-4:45 p.m.
Joint with the Department of Economics
- Gerard Roland, University of California at Berkeley
Title: "Electoral Rules and Government Spending in Parliamentary Democracies"
Presentation Abstract: We present a theoretical model of a parliamentary democracy where electoral competition inside coalition governments induces them to spend more than single party governments. Policy preferences of parties are endogenous and derived from an opportunistic re-election motive. The electoral rule affects government spending, but only indrectly: proportional elections induces a more fragmented party system and a larger incidence of coalition governments than do majoritarian elections. Empirical evidence from post-war parliamentary democracies strongly supports these predictions.
See blog for talk notes
- Friday September 15, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Room 130 Wohlers Hall
Joint with the Departments of Business Administration and Economics
- Mara Faccio, Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management
Title: "Sudden Deaths: Taking Stock of Political Connections" (with David C. Parsley)
Presentation Abstract: Many firms voluntarily incur the costs of attempting to influence politicians. However, estimates of the value of political connections have been made in only a few cases. We propose a new approach to valuing political ties that builds on these previous studies. We consider connected to a politician all companies headquartered in the politician's home town, and use an event study approach to value these ties at their unexpected termination. Analysis of a large number of sudden deaths from around the world since 1973 reveals a market adjusted 2% decline in the value of connected companies. Our results suggest connections matter in many countries, and that they are more important for family firms, firms with high growth prospects, and firms headquartered in highly corrupt countries.
See blog for talk notes.
- Friday September 8, 4:00-5:00 p.m., Room 240 Wohlers Hall
- Organizational Meeting
- Open meeting to all interested faculty, staff, and students
- Past Seminars
