Sarah F. Anzia

I am a third year Ph.D. candidate in political science at Stanford University. I received a master’s degree in public policy from the Harris School at University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Santa Clara University. I study American political institutions, quantitative methods, and comparative politics in the context of American state and local government. My current research examines how the timing of subnational government elections can be manipulated to affect the representativeness of the electorate. I investigate both the effect of election timing on public policy and the origins of election timing as an American electoral institution.

Mail:

Stanford University

Department of Political Science

616 Serra Street

Encina Hall West, Room 100

Stanford, CA 94305-6044

Email:

sanzia(at)stanford(dot)edu

Research

Working Papers:

Election Timing and the Electoral Influence of Interest Groups

Abstract: This paper develops a theory of how the timing of elections affects the representativeness of public policy by biasing who is likely to turn out to vote. It is an established fact that local elections held on days different than national and statewide elections have lower voter turnout. I show that the decrease in turnout that comes with off-cycle election timing does not occur uniformly across the electorate; rather, it creates a strategic opportunity for special interest groups. Members of interest groups with a large stake in the outcome turn out at high rates regardless of election timing, and their efforts to mobilize and persuade voters are more likely to have an impact on the election outcome when turnout is low. Consequently, policy made by local governments that hold off-cycle elections should be more favorable to interest groups than the policy of governments that hold on-cycle elections. I test this theory using data on school district elections in the U.S., in which teacher unions are the dominant interest group. I find that districts with off-cycle elections pay experienced teachers over 3 percent more than districts that hold on-cycle elections.

The Jackie (and Jill) Robinson Effect: Why Do Congresswomen Outperform Congressmen? (with Christopher R. Berry)

Abstract: We argue that the process of selection into political office is different for women than it is for men, which results in important differences in the performance of male and female legislators once they are elected. If voters are biased against female candidates, only the most talented, hardest working female candidates will succeed in the electoral process. Furthermore, if women perceive there to be sex discrimination in the electoral process, or if they underestimate their qualifications for office relative to men, then only the most qualified, politically ambitious females will emerge as candidates. We argue that when either or both forms of sex-based selection are present, the women who are elected to office will perform better, on average, than their male counterparts. We test this central implication of the theory by using legislators’ success in delivering federal spending to their home districts as our primary measure of performance. We find that congresswomen secure roughly 9 percent more spending from federal discretionary programs than congressmen. This amounts to a premium of about $49 million per year for districts that send a woman to Capitol Hill. Finally, we find that women’s superiority in securing particularistic benefits does not hurt their performance in policymaking: women also sponsor more bills and obtain more cosponsorship support for their legislative initiatives than their male colleagues.

Teaching

Head Teaching Assistant (Winter 2010)

PS 2: Introduction to American National Government

Professors Morris Fiorina and Tammy Frisby

Teaching Assistant (Spring 2009)

PS 150C/350C: Political Methodology III

Professor Jonathan Wand

This course covered experiments and randomization, regression discontinuity design, instrumental variables, matching, models of choice, and basics of nonparametric functions.

Writing Tutor (Spring 2009)

PS 247R: Politics and Economics in Democracies

Professor Jonathan Rodden

Teaching Assistant (Winter 2009)

PS 2: Introduction to American National Government

Professors Morris Fiorina and Tammy Frisby

Teaching Assistant (Autumn 2008)

PS 150A/350A: Political Methodology I

Professor Jonathan Wand

This course was an introduction to probability and statistical inference designed for first year political science graduate students.

Download C.V. (pdf)