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Too Much Democracy? Exploring the Link between Majoritarian Institutions and Disparities in the American States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2024

Julianna Pacheco  and
Scott LaCombe Open the ORCID record for Scott LaCombe [Opens in a new window]
Julianna Pacheco
Affiliation:
The University of Iowa, Department of Political Science, Iowa City, IA, USA
Scott LaCombe*
Affiliation:
Smith College, Department of Government and Statistical and Data Sciences, Northampton, MA, USA
*
Corresponding author: Scott LaCombe; Email: lacombe129@gmail.com
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Abstract

In the field of American state politics, the tension between majoritarian institutions and equality has largely been ignored. Do state institutions that empower majority preferences exacerbate disparities in social outcomes? Under what conditions do majoritarian institutions exacerbate inequalities in the American states? Our argument is that equality is most likely to be threatened under majoritarian institutions when (1) there are systemic participatory biases and/or (2) there are widespread prejudices about particular groups in society. We find that more majoritarian institutions are associated with larger disparities between White and Black life expectancy and poverty rates across the American states, but not differences in educational attainment. We also find that this effect is moderated by racial context, with majoritarian institutions being associated with greater disparities for states with diverse racial contexts and smaller disparities in more homogenous states. These findings suggest that majoritarian institutions operate to the benefit of the White majority, while coming at the cost of minority population outcomes when a racial threat is perceived, and presumably, public opinion is biased.

Keywords

Direct DemocracyPopulation HealthAccountabilityInstitutionsInequalities
Type
Original Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , March 2025 , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the State Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association

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