Modeling Politics
Dr. Courtney Brown
Assignment #5
Read the article by Adam Przeworski titled "Institutionalization
of Voting Patterns, or is Mobilization the Source of Decay." Write
a short three to five page essay that addresses the questions listed below.
- What is the primary thesis idea that Przeworski explains in the article,
and who is primarily responsible for the idea he is testing?
- What does Przeworski mean by "institutionalization"? How does
he measure this?
- What does Przeworski mean by "mobilization"? How does he measure
this?
- What is the dependent variable?
- What kind of variation does Przeworski find in his dependent variable 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 Przeworski estimate his parameters?
- How is Przeworski's formal model different from a statistical model?
- What is "system memory" in Przeworski'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.