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What Are the Determinants of Open‐Space Ballot Measures? An Extension of the Research *
Author(s) -
HowellMoroney Michael
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.08501012.x
Subject(s) - urban sprawl , ballot , extension (predicate logic) , selection bias , space (punctuation) , sample (material) , econometrics , bureaucracy , selection (genetic algorithm) , voting , computer science , land use , statistics , geography , public economics , economics , political science , mathematics , law , artificial intelligence , civil engineering , chemistry , chromatography , politics , engineering , programming language , operating system
Objective. This article comments on the findings of Romero and Liserio's “Saving Open Spaces.” Their primary claim is that open‐space ballots are not related in any way to actual land‐use patterns. Methods. First, I present a number of methodological problems with their approach and demonstrate a sample selection bias using their original data. Second, I present some alternate models using data from 350 municipalities in the greater Philadelphia area. Results. I demonstrate that the sample selection bias in Romero and Liserio's model is so acute that all their parameter estimates are jointly zero. With other data, I find that sprawl votes are related to land‐use patterns using a number of different measures. Conclusions. I conclude that open‐space votes are related to land‐use patterns and that this may be explained as a rational response to sprawl by community planning bureaucracies.