ACCOUNTABILITY AND
PUBLIC POLICY CONFERENCE
Festschrift in honor of
R. Douglas Arnold
Thursday and Friday, May 16-17, 2019
Princeton University
Princeton University

R. Douglas Arnold is jointly appointed in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he is Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and the William Church Osborn Professor of Public Affairs.
He has broad interests in American politics, with special interests in congressional politics, national policymaking, representation, the mass media, and Social Security. The author of Congress and the Bureaucracy: A Theory of Influence; The Logic of Congressional Action; and Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability, he also co-authored Issues in Privatizing Social Security and co-edited Framing the Social Security Debate: Values, Politics, and Economics.
After joining Princeton’s faculty in 1977, he has taught a wide range of courses for undergraduate, MPA, MPP, and Ph.D. students. He has also chaired the Department of Politics, directed the Department’s Ph.D. program, and directed the Wilson School’s MPA and Ph.D. programs.
He has been a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Guggenheim Fellow, a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, a recipient of grants from the Ford, Dirksen, Earhart, and National Science Foundations, and the recipient of the Richard F. Fenno prize in legislative studies. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ph.D. Yale University.
He has broad interests in American politics, with special interests in congressional politics, national policymaking, representation, the mass media, and Social Security. The author of Congress and the Bureaucracy: A Theory of Influence; The Logic of Congressional Action; and Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability, he also co-authored Issues in Privatizing Social Security and co-edited Framing the Social Security Debate: Values, Politics, and Economics.
After joining Princeton’s faculty in 1977, he has taught a wide range of courses for undergraduate, MPA, MPP, and Ph.D. students. He has also chaired the Department of Politics, directed the Department’s Ph.D. program, and directed the Wilson School’s MPA and Ph.D. programs.
He has been a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Guggenheim Fellow, a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, a recipient of grants from the Ford, Dirksen, Earhart, and National Science Foundations, and the recipient of the Richard F. Fenno prize in legislative studies. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ph.D. Yale University.
Location127 Corwin Hall
Princeton University By invitation only |
Thursday, May 16 127 Corwin Hall
12:00-1:00pm Lunch
1:00-1:15pm Welcome and Introductory Remarks
1:15-3:00pm Panel 1
Lee Drutman , New America
The Logic of Congressional Action in 2019
Discussant: Justin Crowe, Williams College
Charles Cameron, Princeton University and Sanford Gordon, New York University
Incumbents, Opposition, and Fire-alarm Accountability
Discussant: Andrew Roberts, Northwestern University
Frances Lee, University of Maryland
Coalition Leadership in a Polarized Congress: Reconsidering The Logic of Congressional Action
Discussant: Keith Whittington, Princeton University
3:00-3:15pm break
3:15-4:30pm Panel 2
Daniel Carpenter, Harvard University and Brian Libgober, Yale University
High-Traceability Administrative Politics: Strategic Commenting upon Federal Reserve Debit Card Regulations
Discussant: Philip Wallach, R Street
Eleanor Neff Powell, University of Wisconsin
Campaign Contributions and Bureaucratic Oversight: A Case Study of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Discussant: Rachel Potter, Princeton/CSDP and University of Virginia
4:30-5:00pm David Mayhew, formal remarks Yale University
Friday, May 17 127 Corwin Hall
8:00-9:00am Breakfast
9:00-10:15am Panel 3
John Patty, Emory University
Organizing Institutions to Simultaneously Make Good Policy, Maximize Credit, and Minimize Blame
Discussant: Adam Meirowitz, University of Utah
Alan Gerber, Yale University; Eric Patashnik, Brown University; and Patrick Tucker, Yale University
Public Responsiveness to Contextual Information about Legislative Action: Policy Attributes, Credit Claiming, and Democratic Accountability
Discussant: Asya Magazinnik, Princeton University
10:15-10:30am Break
10:30am-12:15pm Panel 4
John Zaller, UCLA
Duvergerian Coordination in U.S. House Primary Elections
Discussant: Danielle Thomsen, Princeton/CSDP and UC-Irvine
Gregory Huber, Yale University
Congressional Accountability in the Contemporary Media Environment: Arguments, data, and methods (with Patrick Tucker)
Discussant: Andrew Guess, Princeton University
Jonathan Ladd, Georgetown University
Consensus Versus Partisan Institutions: Why Congress and the Press Have Become Less Popular Since the 1970s, But Other Institutions Have Not
Discussant: Larry Bartels, Vanderbilt University
12:15-1:15pm Lunch 127 Corwin Hall and Corwin Atrium
1:15-2:30pm Panel 5
Joshua Clinton, Vanderbilt University
The Importance of Issue Representation in a Polarized Congress
Discussant: Sebastian Thieme, CSDP Fellow, Princeton University
Brandice Canes-Wrone, Princeton University
Developments in House Members’ Accountability (with Michael Kistner)
Discussant: Jason Casellas, University of Houston
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-4:00pm Panel 6
Nicholas Carnes, Duke University
Inequality, or Invisibility and Inaccuracy? How Local Newspapers Cover the Occupational Backgrounds of Members of Congress
Discussant: Patricia Kirkland, Princeton University
Patrick Egan, NYU and Markus Prior, Princeton University
Logic with Polarized Parties, Changing Media, and Motivated Reasoners
Discussant: Kevin Munger, Princeton/CSDP and Penn State University
4:00-4:10pm Concluding remarks
12:00-1:00pm Lunch
1:00-1:15pm Welcome and Introductory Remarks
1:15-3:00pm Panel 1
Lee Drutman , New America
The Logic of Congressional Action in 2019
Discussant: Justin Crowe, Williams College
Charles Cameron, Princeton University and Sanford Gordon, New York University
Incumbents, Opposition, and Fire-alarm Accountability
Discussant: Andrew Roberts, Northwestern University
Frances Lee, University of Maryland
Coalition Leadership in a Polarized Congress: Reconsidering The Logic of Congressional Action
Discussant: Keith Whittington, Princeton University
3:00-3:15pm break
3:15-4:30pm Panel 2
Daniel Carpenter, Harvard University and Brian Libgober, Yale University
High-Traceability Administrative Politics: Strategic Commenting upon Federal Reserve Debit Card Regulations
Discussant: Philip Wallach, R Street
Eleanor Neff Powell, University of Wisconsin
Campaign Contributions and Bureaucratic Oversight: A Case Study of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Discussant: Rachel Potter, Princeton/CSDP and University of Virginia
4:30-5:00pm David Mayhew, formal remarks Yale University
Friday, May 17 127 Corwin Hall
8:00-9:00am Breakfast
9:00-10:15am Panel 3
John Patty, Emory University
Organizing Institutions to Simultaneously Make Good Policy, Maximize Credit, and Minimize Blame
Discussant: Adam Meirowitz, University of Utah
Alan Gerber, Yale University; Eric Patashnik, Brown University; and Patrick Tucker, Yale University
Public Responsiveness to Contextual Information about Legislative Action: Policy Attributes, Credit Claiming, and Democratic Accountability
Discussant: Asya Magazinnik, Princeton University
10:15-10:30am Break
10:30am-12:15pm Panel 4
John Zaller, UCLA
Duvergerian Coordination in U.S. House Primary Elections
Discussant: Danielle Thomsen, Princeton/CSDP and UC-Irvine
Gregory Huber, Yale University
Congressional Accountability in the Contemporary Media Environment: Arguments, data, and methods (with Patrick Tucker)
Discussant: Andrew Guess, Princeton University
Jonathan Ladd, Georgetown University
Consensus Versus Partisan Institutions: Why Congress and the Press Have Become Less Popular Since the 1970s, But Other Institutions Have Not
Discussant: Larry Bartels, Vanderbilt University
12:15-1:15pm Lunch 127 Corwin Hall and Corwin Atrium
1:15-2:30pm Panel 5
Joshua Clinton, Vanderbilt University
The Importance of Issue Representation in a Polarized Congress
Discussant: Sebastian Thieme, CSDP Fellow, Princeton University
Brandice Canes-Wrone, Princeton University
Developments in House Members’ Accountability (with Michael Kistner)
Discussant: Jason Casellas, University of Houston
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-4:00pm Panel 6
Nicholas Carnes, Duke University
Inequality, or Invisibility and Inaccuracy? How Local Newspapers Cover the Occupational Backgrounds of Members of Congress
Discussant: Patricia Kirkland, Princeton University
Patrick Egan, NYU and Markus Prior, Princeton University
Logic with Polarized Parties, Changing Media, and Motivated Reasoners
Discussant: Kevin Munger, Princeton/CSDP and Penn State University
4:00-4:10pm Concluding remarks