Hi, everyone! The final exam for this class will be held in our regular room on Tuesday, December 17, from 7 pm to 9 pm. It will be closed-book and comprehensive. All you need to bring is a pen and photo ID. The exam will cover all material from the semester including lectures, blog posts and linked readings, and the comments of your colleagues. Material will be evenly distributed from throughout the semester. The format will be similar to that of the quizzes. Specifically, there will be five "short essay" sections, and two true-false sections (each with 5 questions). You will answer 4 sections (you may answer 4 short essay sections OR 3 short essay sections plus one true-false section OR 2 short essay sections plus both true-false sections. Each section is worth 5 points.
Besides going over this review sheet and reviewing the material (and I urge to understand rather than memorize), you will have a number of opportunities to ask questions:
1. You may email me at the address on the syllabus (berchnorto@msn.com).
2. You may ask questions in the form of comments on this blog post. I will reply to those questions on the blog, until 1:00 pm on December 17 (same for emailed questions).
3. We will have in-class review sections on December 4 and 6.
4. I will have regular office hours on December 4, 6, and 9, as well as one final hour on December 11, from 12:00 to 1:00. After that, I will only be reachable via email or the class blog.
Material you should understand includes:
1. How political scientists explain differences between states and why they use states as a laboratory.
2. The three types of political culture.
3. The origins of federalism, including the choices the constitution writers faced.
4. The major events in the history of federalism, including court cases, amendments, etc.
5. Fiscal federalism, including types of grants, the role of conditions of aid, the changes made by Ronald Reagan, and why some states get more federal aid than others.
6. The general trends toward greater national control and marble cake federalism.
7. The role of regional bodies.
8. Dillon's Rule and Home Rule.
9. How interest groups are affected by the free rider problem, and why some interest groups are more likely to form than are others.
10. The reasons for the decline of political parties in the states.
11. The difficulties facing third parties and why they are sometimes able to overcome them.
12. Why some states have higher voter turnout than do others, and the ways in which states might try to raise turnout (including the article you read on incentives).
13. How the legislature has become more professionalized.
14. The role of committees in the legislature.
15. The role of norms in the legislature.
16. Cue voting.
17. The types of representation voters expect from legislators.
18. Gerrymandering, including when it is legal and when it is illegal.
19. The increasing power and competence of governors.
20. The line item veto, including its variations, arguments for and against it, and whether it works in the states.
21. Why governors have a harder time getting reelected than do other officials.
22. The reasons for the growth of bureaucracy.
23. The general characteristics of bureaucracy.
24. The problems and good points with bureaucracy.
25. The ways in which elected officials control bureaucracy.
26. The different methods for choosing judges, including their advantages and disadvantages.
27. The different structures for local government, including their advantages and disadvantages.
28. The difference between progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes, including which taxes fall into which categories, and why some states have less regressive tax systems than do others.
29. School choice, including arguments for and against it.
31. Equalization of school funding, including arguments for and against it.
32. Why higher education has a harder time getting funded than does elementary and secondary education (and why that is harder still in West Virginia).
Besides going over this review sheet and reviewing the material (and I urge to understand rather than memorize), you will have a number of opportunities to ask questions:
1. You may email me at the address on the syllabus (berchnorto@msn.com).
2. You may ask questions in the form of comments on this blog post. I will reply to those questions on the blog, until 1:00 pm on December 17 (same for emailed questions).
3. We will have in-class review sections on December 4 and 6.
4. I will have regular office hours on December 4, 6, and 9, as well as one final hour on December 11, from 12:00 to 1:00. After that, I will only be reachable via email or the class blog.
Material you should understand includes:
1. How political scientists explain differences between states and why they use states as a laboratory.
2. The three types of political culture.
3. The origins of federalism, including the choices the constitution writers faced.
4. The major events in the history of federalism, including court cases, amendments, etc.
5. Fiscal federalism, including types of grants, the role of conditions of aid, the changes made by Ronald Reagan, and why some states get more federal aid than others.
6. The general trends toward greater national control and marble cake federalism.
7. The role of regional bodies.
8. Dillon's Rule and Home Rule.
9. How interest groups are affected by the free rider problem, and why some interest groups are more likely to form than are others.
10. The reasons for the decline of political parties in the states.
11. The difficulties facing third parties and why they are sometimes able to overcome them.
12. Why some states have higher voter turnout than do others, and the ways in which states might try to raise turnout (including the article you read on incentives).
13. How the legislature has become more professionalized.
14. The role of committees in the legislature.
15. The role of norms in the legislature.
16. Cue voting.
17. The types of representation voters expect from legislators.
18. Gerrymandering, including when it is legal and when it is illegal.
19. The increasing power and competence of governors.
20. The line item veto, including its variations, arguments for and against it, and whether it works in the states.
21. Why governors have a harder time getting reelected than do other officials.
22. The reasons for the growth of bureaucracy.
23. The general characteristics of bureaucracy.
24. The problems and good points with bureaucracy.
25. The ways in which elected officials control bureaucracy.
26. The different methods for choosing judges, including their advantages and disadvantages.
27. The different structures for local government, including their advantages and disadvantages.
28. The difference between progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes, including which taxes fall into which categories, and why some states have less regressive tax systems than do others.
29. School choice, including arguments for and against it.
31. Equalization of school funding, including arguments for and against it.
32. Why higher education has a harder time getting funded than does elementary and secondary education (and why that is harder still in West Virginia).
33. The role of standardized testing in elementary and secondary education policy.
Ask questions, study hard, and good luck!.--NB
Ask questions, study hard, and good luck!.--NB
Professor Berch,
ReplyDeleteI seemed to have misplaced my notes and was wondering if you can remind me of the free rider problem?
Thank you!
You should probably start by looking at the lecture notes online (set #2, I believe). The free rider problem helps to explain why some interests don't form an interest group (because, everyone, acting rationally, expects others to do the work). So, unlike what the pluralist theory of interest groups suggests, not every interest forms an interest group. In particular, smaller groups, where everyone has a lot at stake, are more likely to overcome the free rider problem and form an interest group. Larger groups, where everyone has just a little at stake, have trouble overcoming the free rider problem. Thus, you get interest groups of dairy farmers but not milk drinkers.--NB
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