Social scientists study complex phenomena about which they often propose intricate hypotheses tested with linear-interactive or multiplicative terms. While interaction terms are hardly new to social science research, researchers have yet to develop a common methodology for using and interpreting them. Modeling and Interpreting Interactive Hypotheses in Regression Analysis provides step-by-step guidance on how to connect substantive theories to statistical models and how to interpret and present the results. "Kam and Franzese is a must-have for all empirical social scientists interested in teasing out the complexities of their data." ---Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Ohio State University "Kam and Franzese have written what will become the definitive source on dealing with interaction terms and testing interactive hypotheses. It will serve as the standard reference for political scientists and will be one of those books that everyone will turn to when helping our students or doing our work. But more than that, this book is the best text I have seen for getting students to really think about the importance of careful specification and testing of their hypotheses." ---David A. M. Peterson, Texas A&M University "Kam and Franzese have given scholars and teachers of regression models something they've needed for years: a clear, concise guide to understanding multiplicative interactions. Motivated by real substantive examples and packed with valuable examples and graphs, their book belongs on the shelf of every working social scientist." ---Christopher Zorn, University of South Carolina "Kam and Franzese make it easy to model what good researchers have known for a long time: many important and interesting causal effects depend on the presence of other conditions. Their book shows how to explore interactive hypotheses in your own research and how to present your results. The book is straightforward yet technically sophisticated. There are no more excuses for misunderstanding, misrepresenting, or simply missing out on interaction effects!" ---Andrew Gould, University of Notre Dame Cindy D. Kam is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Davis. Robert J. Franzese Jr. is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, and Research Associate Professor, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. For datasets, syntax, and worksheets to help readers work through the examples covered in the book, visit: www.press.umich.edu/KamFranzese/Interactions.html

More than 53 million Latinos now constitute the largest, fastest-growing, and most diverse minority group in the United States, and the nationOCOs political future may well be shaped by LatinosOCO continuing political incorporation. In the 2012 election, Latinos proved to be a critical voting bloc in both Presidential and Congressional races; this demographic will only become more important in future American elections. Using new evidence from the largest-ever scientific survey addressed exclusively to Latino/Hispanic respondents, a Latino Politics a en Ciencia Pol tica aexplores political diversity within the Latino community, considering how intra-community differences influence political behavior and policy preferences. The editors and contributors, all noted scholars of race and politics, examine key issues of Latino politics in the contemporary United States: Latino/a identities ( latinidad ), transnationalism, acculturation, political community, and racial consciousness. The book contextualizes todayOCOs research within the history of Latino political studies, from the fieldOCOs beginnings to the present, explaining how systematic analysis of Latino political behavior has over time become integral to the study of political science.a Latino Politics aen Ciencia Pol tica is thus an ideal text for learning both the state of the field today, and key dimensions of Latino political attitudes."

Across representative democracies, there is a strong variation in the rules that govern the electoral process. A classic insight in political science is that these rules, e.g., the presence of a majoritarian or a proportional system have a profound effect on the way a democracy functions. We know less however, about the way voters actually respond to these electoral rules. This kind of effect presupposes that voters not only are aware of the electoral system, but also that they adapt to the incentives offered by the system. In this volume, a group of international scholars investigate whether this is indeed the case. The various chapters in this volume deal with the effect of proportionality, mixed-member systems, compulsory voting and preferential voting. The chapters are based on recent data and state-of-the-art methods. The introduction confronts the findings of the various chapters with the allegedly universal validity of vote choice models in the literature. The research presented in this volume mainly deals with elections in Europe, but the findings speak to the broader community of electoral scholars. The chapters originally published as a special issue in West European Politics.

Human population growth is a serious biospheric problem yet is largely overlooked. Because of the neglect of demography, environmental policies—while well-intentioned—are unlikely to succeed. This book gives a concise review of world fertility rates and population growth, and offers a valuable summary of studies of the impact of overpopulation on the biosphere. In addition, the book explains key demographic variables to consider when formulating law and government policy relevant to childbearing, and it summarizes findings of social science research—findings that contradict popular assumptions about the impact of government interventions addressing the frequency of childbearing and immigration.

At 15.4 percent of the population, Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States. They are a growing presence in all sectors of the economy, play an increasingly important role in government and politics, and are influential across a wide range of cultural domains. Despite the growing attention paid to Latinos in recent years, this population is characterized by relatively low socio-economic status, and Latinos frequently rank behind the majority white population and other minority groups when it comes to education, finances, and employment. This book contributes to the understanding of these issues by addressing a comprehensive range of topics on Latino economic incorporation, outcomes, and impact over an individual's lifetime. The volume starts with the foundational issue of education, and then moves to immigrant integration and adjustment, Latino and immigrant earnings, the economic impact of Latinos, and inter-generational incorporation and long-term integration issues. The contributions provide wide-ranging perspectives on the key factors that determine whether Latinos will be able to achieve their economic potential. The substantial individual, national, and international implications of these studies make this book of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike, particularly those concerned with the issues of education, immigration, employment, and earnings. The rapid and continuing growth of the Hispanic population ensures that the debate over social policy in the next few decades will increasingly focus on how best to alleviate the economic and social problems facing this population and perhaps encourage rapid assimilation. The studies in the volume edited by David Leal and Stephen Trejo provide an excellent foundation for this discussion. The conceptual issues and findings in these papers are sure to be valuable to both policy makers and researchers. George Borjas, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Latinos and the Economy provides a truly authoritative but accessible compilation of first-rate scholarship on Hispanic incorporation, educational and political gains, and ongoing economic and cultural impacts. It is "must reading" for anyone concerned about the future, especially as America moves inexorably towards becoming a majority-minority society by mid-century. Daniel T. Lichter, Ferris Family Professor, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University This is the volume to read for anyone interested in current American immigration issues or the role of Hispanics in the U.S. economy." Daniel S. Hamermesh, Killam Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin "The future of America is closely intertwined with the successful integration--economically, politically, and socially--of the Latino population. Latinos now comprise one of every seven workers and almost one of every five students in the United States. The research reported in this volume describes the challenges faced by Latinos in schools, the labor market, and in communities and explains their prospects for upward mobility. These studies suggest that a significant investment in expanding educational opportunities may be the single most important policy lever to incorporate Latinos into the American mainstream." Charles Hirschman, Professor of Public Affairs and Boeing International Professor of Sociology, University of Washington

This book explores the ways in which representative democracy works in two neighbouring collections of European states: the Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and the Baltic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Starting from a Nordic vantage point, contributors explore the extent to which aspects of politics function similarly or dissimilarly across the two groups of democratic states, acknowledging the differences in models of democracy that occur within each group. Authors explore the possibility that some of the apparently successful institutional features of Nordic politics have somehow influenced politics in the Baltic states, despite the considerable contextual differences between the two groups. The Nordic-Baltic comparison is particularly worthy of study, given the comparative stability of the Nordic democracies and the half century of occupation by a totalitarian dictatorship that the Baltic states endured. The central, guiding questions are: how does political representation work in countries that have a lot in common, but also a few significant contextual dissimilarities; and what, if any, relationships between the respective styles of democracy can be identified? Using a variety of theories, perspectives and methods, the empirical studies that populate the book seek to offer reflections on these questions.

The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations offers a comprehensive overview of research processes in social science — from the ideation and design of research projects, through the construction of theoretical arguments, to conceptualization, measurement, & data collection, and quantitative & qualitative empirical analysis — exposited through 65 major new contributions from leading international methodologists. Each chapter surveys, builds upon, and extends the modern state of the art in its area. Following through its six-part organization, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practicing academics will be guided through the design, methods, and analysis of issues in Political Science and International Relations: Part One: Formulating Good Research Questions & Designing Good Research Projects Part Two: Methods of Theoretical Argumentation Part Three: Conceptualization & Measurement Part Four: Large-Scale Data Collection & Representation Methods Part Five: Quantitative-Empirical Methods Part Six: Qualitative & "Mixed" Methods