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Ross, Michael L.: Does oil hinder democracy?. - In: World Politics. - 53 (April 2001) 3. - S. 325-361

It is a well-established fact, from decades of research on political socialization, that the children of politically active parents are more likely to become politically active themselves. This poses a challenge for democracy, as it means that inequalities in political influence are reproduced across generations. The present study argues that this problem may be more severe than has hitherto been acknowledged. The reason for this is that previous research on the topic has focused almost exclusively on political transmission between parents and their children, whereas the role played by more distant forebears, such as grandparents, has been largely neglected. In this study, we use Swedish register data to analyze multigenerational associations in electoral participation. The empirical results clearly indicate that the traditional two-generation approach to the study of political transmission tends to underestimate intergenerational persistence in voting behavior and that this excess persistence has both genetic and social roots.

This article analyzes a rich Swedish data set with information on the electoral turnout of a large sample of adoptees, their siblings, their adoptive parents, and their biological parents. We use a simple regression framework to decompose the parent-child resemblance in voting into pre-birth factors, measured by biological parents' voting, and post-birth factors, measured by adoptive parents' voting. Adoptees are more likely to vote if their biological parents were voters and if they were assigned to families in which the adoptive parents vote. We find evidence of interactions between the pre- and post-birth factors: the effect of the post-birth environment on turnout is greater amongst adoptees whose biological mothers are nonvoters. We also show that the relationships between parental characteristics, such as education, and child turnout, persist even in the absence of a genetic link between parent and child. The regression-based framework we utilize provides a basis for the integration of behavior-genetic research into mainstream political science.

This article analyzes a rich Swedish data set with information on the electoral turnout of a largesample of adoptees, their siblings, their adoptive parents, and their biological parents. We use asimple regression framework to decompose the parent-child resemblance in voting into pre-birthfactors, measured by biological parents' voting, and post-birth factors, measured by adoptive parents'voting. Adoptees are more likely to vote if their biological parents were voters and if they were assignedto families in which the adoptive parents vote. We find evidence of interactions between the pre- andpost-birth factors: the effect of the post-birth environment on turnout is greater amongst adoptees whosebiological mothers are nonvoters. We also show that the relationships between parental characteristics,such as education, and child turnout, persist even in the absence of a genetic link between parent andchild. The regression-based framework we utilize provides a basis for the integration of behavior-geneticresearch into mainstream political science. ; Nature, nurture and political attitudes and behavior

Diversity has powerful advantages, but may also generate internal tensions and low interpersonal trust. Despite extensive attention to these questions, the relationship between diversity and trust is often misunderstood and findings methodologically flawed. In this article, we specify two different mechanisms and adherent hypotheses. An individual might base her decision to trust on her perceived social similarity in relation to others in the community, that is, a similarity hypothesis. However, in a homogenous context, she might expect trustworthy behavior irrespective of her own social position due to signals of low degrees of social conflict and dense social networks, that is, a homogeneity hypothesis. Prior research has pinpointed only one of these mechanisms. The homogeneity hypothesis has not been explicated, and when the intention has been to test the similarity hypothesis, the homogeneity hypothesis has unintentionally been tested instead. The results are straightforward. While the homogeneity hypothesis is strongly supported, the findings speak against the similarity hypothesis.

This is a study of political tolerance in India, Pakistan, Kenya, and Uganda. The project will focus on tolerance of the kind we associate with civil liberties and rights liberties and rights that from a democratic perspective should belong to all citizens irrespective of race or ethnicity, gender, class, or, most important, opinion. We will consider the value which citizens place upon these liberties and what explains the variation in citizens' levels of political tolerance. By means of surveys and in-depth interviews in all four countries, which vary in type of regime on a scale ranging from "democratic" to "very weak democratic", the project will test a set of hypotheses relating mainly to civil society, gender, type of regime, quality of governance, ethnic pluralism, and socioeconomic conditions. In particular, the project aims at investigating the possible influence of institutional factors and cultural values and traditions. The aim is to test the idea that state institutions that provide services (e.g. health services, education, judicial support) according to universalistic principles always contribute to political tolerance (measured as the support for the freedom of expression) no matter how plagued the cultural and political context may be with regard to lack of trust, ethnic divides, and socioeconomic inequalities. Adapted from the source document.

This study tests three hypotheses on data from a survey on employment relations conducted in Sweden in 2006. The first hypothesis implies that the extent to which an employee perceives formal institutions as fair and duly enforced increases the probability that he/she will behave cooperatively. The second hypothesis states that an employee's trust in the opposite party should have equivalent effects. The last hypothesis holds that an employee's perception of formal institutions as fair and duly enforced increases his/her trust in the opposite party. All three hypotheses are supported by the data. The interpretation is that there is indeed an effect on cooperative behavior and willingness to enter into flexible contracts from perceptions of fair and enforced institutions, but it is indirect and mediated by attitudes of trust. ; Skorpan

This article focuses on how institutions matter in generating relationships of trust in an environment of unequal power. Trust is seen as the truster's expectation that the trustee will act trustworthily out of moral commitment and/or interest in continuing the relationship. Using cross-sectional data from a survey conducted in 2006 on Swedish employment relations the authors show that perceived power asymmetries between an employee and his/her superior have a negative impact on trust. However, perceptions about the enforcement and fairness of institutional constraints – rules for dismissals, conflict resolution, wage setting, and promotion – have conditioning effects. When the respondents conceive the rules as fair, trust is less influenced by increasing power asymmetries between an employee and his/her superior. The results have important implications. By designing institutions that are considered fair, distrust may be mitigated even in situations characterized by extensive power asymmetries. ; Skorpan

This study tests three hypotheses on data from a survey on employment relations conducted in Sweden in 2006. The first hypothesis implies that the extent to which an employee perceives formal institutions as fair and duly enforced increases the probability that he/she will behave cooperatively. The second hypothesis states that an employee's trust in the opposite party should have equivalent effects. The last hypothesis holds that an employee's perception of formal institutions as fair and duly enforced increases his/her trust in the opposite party. All three hypotheses are supported by the data. The interpretation is that there is indeed an effect on cooperative behavior and willingness to enter into flexible contracts from perceptions of fair and enforced institutions, but it is indirect and mediated by attitudes of trust.

This article focuses on how institutions matter in generating relationships of trust in an environment of unequal power. Trust is seen as the truster's expectation that the trustee will act trustworthily out of moral commitment and/or interest in continuing the relationship. The weight given to self-interest and moral commitment might differ across individuals and institutional settings. Using cross-sectional data from a survey conducted in 2006 on Swedish employment relations the authors show that perceived power asymmetries between an employee and his/her superior have a negative impact on trust. However, perceptions about the enforcement and fairness of institutional constraints – rules for dismissals, conflict resolution, wage setting, and promotion – have conditioning effects. The degree to which the employees perceived the institutional constraints as enforced and fairly implemented is positively related to the expressed trust in their superiors. Furthermore, when the respondents conceived the rules as fairly implemented, trust was less influenced by changes in power relations and the extent to which they perceived the rules for dismissals as enforced. The results have important implications. By designing institutions that are considered fair, distrust may be mitigated even in situations characterized by extensive power asymmetries. ; Samarbete, konflikt och rättvisa på arbetsmarknaden (Skorpan)

In the field of political science researchers have shown empirically that the perception of relevant political institutions as fair may produce political (vertical), as well as interpersonal (horizontal) trust. By making use of these overlapping but separate theoretical frameworks, we formulated three hypotheses that we tested on data from a survey conducted in Sweden in 2006. First, we investigated whether the extent to which an employee perceives formal institutions as fair and duly enforced lower the probability that he/she will behave opportunistically. Second, we tested whether an employee's trust in the opposite party had equivalent effects. Third , we examined whether an employee's perception of formal institutions as fair and duly enforced increased his/her trust in the opposite party. All three hypotheses were supported by the data. Our interpretation is that that there is indeed an effect on cooperative behavior and willingness to enter into flexible contracts from perceptions of fair and enforced institutions, but it is indirect. Trust, however, has direct effects and, consequently, mediates the effects of institutions as well. ; Samarbete, konflikt och rättvisa på arbetsmarknaden (Skorpan)