American Politics Comprehensive Exams --August 16, 2001

Day 2: State & Local, Federalism & Intergovernmental Relations

Morning: Choose 1 of 2:

1 . How have federal public policies changed political representation in subnational governments? How do institutional relationships among governments either enhance or hinder democratic policy development m sttbnational governments? Does having multiple layers o1 govemmem increase or decrease governmental responsiveness to citizens?

2. The US Federal system is the result of historical development and political compromise. How would federalism change if the United States "dug it up by its roots" and redesigned it to meet the demands and politics of the modern welfare state'? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a model of functional federalism? How would such a model change politics?.

Afternoon: Answer the following essay.

Mollenkopf (1992) writes, "Scholars... argued that mayors neither could nor would use the powers of local government to address issues of race and class inequality."

Respond to the above statement by analyzing coalition politics and subnational political economy. How have differences in the composition of the electorate, the intersection of public policies. the structure of political organizations and government institutions, and private sector interests and representation created differences in cities' attention to and actions toward issues of race and class inequality?