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Speaker
Stephanie Ternullo, "'It makes me sound like I’m a NIMBY; I'm not': Local Political Norms and Liberal Support for Housing"
Abstract
Under what conditions do affluent liberals vote in line with their ideology over their self-interest? Specifically, under what conditions do homeowning liberals prioritize their own interests over their ideological commitments when it comes to local land-use decisions? Several recent studies have sought to address this question by examining how different characteristics of hypothetical local developments or framing devices tip liberal homeowners tilt in one direction or another. In this paper, I build on those studies with a slightly different approach, examining how local contexts shape the way liberal homeowners think about new housing in their communities. To do so, I draw on a mixed-methods study, including in-depth interviews, local ballot measure data from California, and a survey experiment to show that local political norms influence how liberal homeowners make decisions on residential zoning issues. My claim is that homeowners in liberal areas are more likely to vote in favor of pro-density measures, not just because of individual-level ideological commitments, but because residents wish to conform to local political norms and during local campaigns they learn where zoning issues fall vis-à-vis those norms. By voting in conformance with group norms and against their self-interests, even within the privacy of the ballot box, liberal homeowners are behaving in ways that they know would gain the esteem of their group members, thus supporting their own self-image as a particular kind of political actor. These findings emphasize the importance of considering how voters navigate not just between economic and political pressures, but also social ones.
The American Politics Research Workshop (Gov 3004) presents an opportunity for graduate students and Harvard faculty to present and receive feedback on their current research. The workshop highlights key theoretical and empirical findings from Harvard affiliates on topics related to American politics.
All interested Harvard affiliates are invited to attend.