Modeling Politics
Dr. Courtney Brown
Assignment #4
Read the article by John Sprague titled "One-Party
Dominance in Legislatures." Write a short three to five page essay
that addresses the questions listed below.
- What is the primary thesis idea that Sprague explains in the article?
- What are the dependent variables?
- How does Sprague combine two dependent variables into one?
- What kind of variation does Sprague find in his dependent variables that
he seeks to explain, and how does he demonstrate this variation?
- What independent variables are used? (Hint: Look at the time subscripts.)
- How does Sprague estimate his parameters?
- How is Sprague's formal model different from a statistical model?
- What is an "equilibrium point" in Sprague's analysis?
- What is "bias" in Sprague's analysis?
- What is "institutionalization" in Sprague's analysis?
Note: To do this assignment, you will have to have read the previous week's
readings on difference equations and dynamic modeling.
Use normal margins of 1 inch all around. Use Times New Roman 12 point font,
and double space.