Liz Thom, "Social Programs and the Political Consequences of Extractive Industry Decline"
Places with ties to extractive industries in the United States are already facing the economic and social consequences of the transition away from fossil fuels and are turning toward the state for help. In this paper, I examine the political consequences of widespread reliance on federal social policies brought on by industrial decline. I focus in particular on one social program that appears especially responsive to the adverse effects caused by declining economic opportunity: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Nevertheless, the program does not seem to generate the sorts of participatory feedback effects we expect to find with social insurance programs. I explore this puzzle and propose individual and contextual mechanisms to help explain it. Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, I find that while federal programs, such as SSDI, provide critical support to those facing material losses, they do little to tackle the deterioration of civic-organizational life caused by industrial decline. In turn, these local conditions, when left unaddressed by state interventions, exacerbate feelings of threat and abandonment, leading to low levels of political participation or total disengagement from politics.
The American Politics Research Workshop (Gov 3004) meets all academic year, Tuesdays, 12:00 - 2:00 PM, in CGIS K354. This workshop 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.
LOCATION: CGIS Knafel room K354, or online via Zoom STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20241008T160000Z DTEND:20241008T180000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR