Despite the fact of a national market and ease of migration, U.S. states persist in making dramatically different policy choices. This is true across a wide swath of issues, including Medicaid, education, pensions, criminal justice, and regulation. What accounts for these enduring differences? Is it variation in public opinion, demographics, income, or inequality? Or is it different political institutions? It is also the case that states vary systematically in their political choices for state and federal offices, perhaps most dramatically illustrated in the opposition of red and blue states. What are the consequences of this emerging political polarization? This course will compare the political and policy choices made by various U.S. states in a variety of electoral, administrative, and policy settings. Students with interests in state policy, American and comparative politics are particularly suited for the course, though all are welcome.
