POLS 207 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide CHAPTER 1 FIFTY STATES AND 90 000 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Chapter Summary 1 American federalism is dynamic and the relationship between states and the federal government have changed over time Most observers think the federal government controls the states A more sophisticated state centric view is superior 2 The federal government and the states may not infringe but they can regulate the right to keep and bear arms States have confirmed they are always different in their reactions to recent deadly shootings Some have increased regulations but most have decreased regulations 3 Marriage rights and marijuana restrictions are examples of changing policies states and of the federal government and states seemingly pursuing different goals 4 State and local governments spend close to half of all government revenues in the United States and pass most of the laws that affect us 5 Federal grants to states create the impression that states are better stewards of government revenue than the federal government 6 Funds for national defense social security and Medicare are entirely federal Expenditures on education public order and safety and recreation and culture are almost entirely by states Spending for the health care in general economic affairs and general public services are divided between the two levels 7 Acquiring high quality data on state and local governments is frequently more challenging than you might expect 8 States vary in many ways including 1 physical and demographic differences 2 wealth differences 3 differences in social problems faced 9 While on any measure some states are better probably no state or states are consistently best 10 Identifying patterns of state differences may help us create knowledge to identify policies to achieve goals more effectively 11 We cannot assign states to treatment and control groups and conduct true experiments Systematic analysis of comprehensive state and local information is challenging Success in identifying ways to achieve goals is not guaranteed Essay Questions What is federalism How does federalism affect relations between state and local governments How do states act as laboratories for experimenting with different policies What happens when a state or local law is declared unconstitutional Which law is applied then What would be the impact on state and local governments if the federal government stopped transferring funds to them Which law affects us the most Federal state or local government Multiple Choice Who creates local governments a federal government b state government c voters d communities Which level of government has the most impact on public policies affecting elementary and secondary education higher education marriage and speed limits a federal government b state government c local government d supreme court Which level of government is responsible for national defense a federal government b state government c local government d city government Which of the following is financed mainly by the federal government a elementary and secondary school b police and corrections c fire protection d welfare and social services CHAPTER 2 STATE DIFFERENCES AND RELATIONSHIP Chapter Summary 1 There is bountiful information available about state and local governments and their attempts to use resources to achieve common goals We must make thoughtful choices if our use of such information is to be worthwhile Failing to control for state population size when studying behaviors related to population size almost always result in spurious findings 2 The comparative method allows us to explore patterns of the state differences Data visualization such as maps and scatterplots are useful exploratory tools Correlation coefficients can be used to evaluate direction and strength of relationships 3 Correlations and scatterplots alone cannot provide proof that a casual relationship exists Neither can they specify which variable influences which Other information must be brought to bear Frequently that other information is anecdotal of from non scientific studies 4 Some states are wealthy in that people working within their borders earn substantial incomes Such wealthy residents can in turn be taxed to pay for the governmental services provided by others Other states are quite poor because they lack many wealthy individuals A central question is how can poorer states become wealthier 5 States with many college graduates have higher personal incomes Although states cannot pass laws demanding that people have higher incomes the can enact policies to encourage residents to pursue higher education They can also encourage college graduates residing elsewhere to relocate to their state 6 College education may provide the key to improving state economics and state tax bases but there is no simple direct relationship between proportion of college graduates and state and local government total revenue per capita 7 Violent crime rates are related to incarceration rates which are cumulative from past imprisonments and releases Violent crime rates are not related to same year rates of imprisonments or releases The correlation between the same year imprisonment and release rates is 98 States practices concerning short tem punishment may be indirectly related or unrelated to short term crime 8 Per capita income is related to poverty However poverty can exist in the presence of high income or in the absence of high income 9 Educational attainment and financial wealth are also related to lower poverty lower infant mortality and longer lifespans Poverty infant mortality and life span are also interrelated Essay Questions What is a correlation coefficient What is the range of possible values What does it mean when two variables are positively correlated Give example What does it mean when two variables are negatively correlated Give example Can one draw casual inferences when two variables are correlated Why why not What is the relationship between education and income in the states What are some of the problems associated with large metropolitan populations What strategies could states pursue to increase life expectancy Multiple Choice Questions What is the correlation between total per capita state revenues and total per capita state expenditures a positive b negative c no correlation Which of the following statements is false a southern states tax little and pay little b states with higher revenue have higher expenditures c