Srinivas Parinandi

Social welfare returns to legislative capacity: Evidence from the opioid epidemic

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:17:01 +0000

Social welfare returns to legislative capacity: Evidence from the opioid epidemic Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:17

Social welfare returns to legislative capacity: Evidence from the opioid epidemic

By: David Fortunato, Srinivas C Parinandi

Abstract:

We argue that endowing legislatures with greater resources can improve regulatory com
pliance by allowing representatives to design more specific policy—leaving less discretion
for regulators and less slack for the regulated—and engage in more rigorous ex-post over
sight of regulatory agents. The argument is applied to opioid mortality in the US, a
public health crisis driven in part by regulatory dereliction: the failure of states to limit
irresponsible distribution of opioid pain relievers. We explain the governance roots of
the crisis and predict a negative relationship between overdose mortality and legislative
capacity. Statistical analyses indicate that increasing legislative capacity lowers opioid
mortality, and that the effect is compounding with regulatory work force, suggesting
agents are more effective under strong legislatures. Placebo tests on other “deaths of
despair” resulting from alcohol and suicide, which have similar behavioral or societal
correlates to opioid mortality but should not be influenced by regulatory regimes, are
uncorrelated with legislative capacity, lending credibility to our interpretation.

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Why renewable energy policy advocates should lobby state lawmakers later in the legislative process

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:15:58 +0000

Why renewable energy policy advocates should lobby state lawmakers later in the legislative process Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:15

Why renewable energy policy advocates should lobby state lawmakers later in the legislative process

By: Srinivas Parinandi

Abstract:

Under the federalist system, US states have a great deal of decision-making power over a wide range of policy areas. In new research, Srinivas “Chinnu” Parinandi looks at how states can be encouraged to enact renewable energy development policies. Looking at the diffusion of state renewable energy development policy legislation over decades, he finds that state legislators are more likely to be influenced by the actions of other states and approve similar legislation at home when they are voting on it, rather than when bills are being developed.

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Does the public hold governors accountable for policy outcomes?

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:14:14 +0000

Does the public hold governors accountable for policy outcomes? Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:14

Does the public hold governors accountable for policy outcomes?

By: Jennifer Wolak, Srinivas Parinandi

Abstract:

What are the origins of gubernatorial popularity? Past studies debate whether governors are substantively evaluated based on their performance in office, with some arguing that the origins of approval may be idiosyncratic to particular governors. These studies typically consider gubernatorial approval in a handful of states or patterns of approval in the aggregate. We improve on this research by drawing on a richer data source: the Cooperative Congressional Election Study. We consider both individual-level and state-level explanations of gubernatorial popularity with a sample of over 300,000 respondents across the 50 states from 2006 to 2018. We explore how party, policy outcomes, and government performance shape levels of gubernatorial approval. We show that people evaluate governors based on the ideological direction of policy outcomes in the states. When state policy outcomes align with their ideological preferences, people report higher levels of approval for the job performance of their governor. We also confirm the importance of party and state economic performance for gubernatorial approval.

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What Happens When the States Regulate First? Analyzing Governance of the Telegraph Industry in the Antebellum United States

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:12:49 +0000

What Happens When the States Regulate First? Analyzing Governance of the Telegraph Industry in the Antebellum United States Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:12

What Happens When the States Regulate First? Analyzing Governance of the Telegraph Industry in the Antebellum United States

By: Srinivas C Parinandi

Abstract:

Studies of regulation in the United States often assume that the federal government has been the major initiator of regulatory behavior and that the emergence of a regulatory state has been a modern phenomenon. This view, to some degree, belies the experience of the US states, who engaged in regulatory behavior prior to the Civil War. In this paper, I utilize data on the adoption of telegraph regulation policies by the US states in the 1840s and 1850s (when the telegraph was new and cutting-edge technology) in an attempt to gain purchase on what explains the rise of regulatory behavior in an era considered to be largely devoid of such activity. Using pooled event history analysis to fully capture temporal and cross-sectional variation in state policy adoption activity and employing a bevy of explanatory variables across multiple empirical specifications, I find evidence suggesting that the emergence of mass public schooling corresponds with a greater likelihood of regulatory behavior. I argue that mass schooling (usually financed through public taxation) helped create legitimacy in the view that government should utilize policymaking power toward the public good, which furthered regulatory behavior. The result potentially sheds light on the emergence of the American regulatory state in the nineteenth century and may help us understand attempts to deprofessionalize American state government in the twenty-first century.

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Following in Footsteps or Marching Alone?: How Institutional Differences Influence Renewable Energy Policy

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:11:33 +0000

Following in Footsteps or Marching Alone?: How Institutional Differences Influence Renewable Energy Policy Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:11

Following in Footsteps or Marching Alone?: How Institutional Differences Influence Renewable Energy Policy

By: Srinivas Parinandi

Abstract:

In recent years, the federal government’s increasing inability to address major societal challenges has arguably hampered America’s commitment to renewable energy initiatives. Individual US states have stepped into this void and adopted their own policies, leading some to believe that the states can propel America’s renewable energy industry forward. However, we know little about how legislative and regulatory dynamics within America’s states might accelerate or hinder renewable energy policy creation. In Following in Footsteps or Marching Alone?, Srinivas Parinandi explores how states have devised their own novel policies, and how the political workings of legislatures and public utilities commissions have impacted state renewable energy policy design. Through the meticulous study of nearly three decades of state-level renewable energy policy-making, he finds that their creation is primarily driven by legislatures, and that ideologically liberal legislatures largely push the envelope. The book suggests that having a predominantly state-driven renewable energy effort can lead to uneven and patchwork-based policy development outcomes, and a possible solution is to try to more successfully federalize these issues. Parinandi urges readers, scholars, and policy practitioners to consider whether a state-led effort is adequate enough to handle the task of building momentum for renewable energy in one of the world’s largest electricity markets.

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Causal Effects of State-Level Proof of Vaccine Mandate Bans on COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior By Political Ideology

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:09:11 +0000

Causal Effects of State-Level Proof of Vaccine Mandate Bans on COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior By Political Ideology Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:09

Causal Effects of State-Level Proof of Vaccine Mandate Bans on COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior By Political Ideology

By: Deena Brosi, Glen Mays, Gregory Tung, Beth McManus, Srinivas Parinandi, Shannon Rossiter

Abstract:

To investigate the effect of proof-of-vaccine (POV) mandate bans on weekly, 1st-dose COVID-19 vaccinations at the county level. During the push for COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021, there were many areas across the country with significant portions of the population who were vaccine hesitant and skeptical of public health measures. This sentiment was frequently mirrored by state/local legislators and resulted in several states passing POV mandate bans, which prohibited local through federal government agencies from requiring patrons to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to receive services. While many studies have looked at the effect of vaccine mandates in the US and globally, no research has been conducted on the potential behavioral effects of these state-level POV mandate bans.

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Federal Slavery Legislation and Voting in US Gubernatorial Elections, 1840—1860

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:07:21 +0000

Federal Slavery Legislation and Voting in US Gubernatorial Elections, 1840—1860 Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:07

Federal Slavery Legislation and Voting in US Gubernatorial Elections, 1840—1860

By: Alexander Jensen, Madeline Mader, Srinivas C Parinandi, Anand Sokhey, Michael Byrd

Abstract:

The demise of the Whig Party in the 1850s has long been a subject of great attention among scholars and the general public. However, this historical development has received less attention from the vantage point of quantitative empirical analysis. Using state-level gubernatorial electoral returns from 1840 to 1860, we assess how major events like the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act/Compromise of 1850, the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the rise of the Know Nothing Party influenced the transformation of America’s party system in the lead up to the Civil War. We find evidence linking the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to a drop in support for Northern Whigs, Free Soilers, and (more suggestively) Northern Democrats. The results are consistent with a narrative of the Kansas-Nebraska Act unleashing fears among Free Soilers, ultimately leading to a coalescing around the new Republican Party.

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Investigating the politics and content of US State artificial intelligence legislation

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:05:01 +0000

Investigating the politics and content of US State artificial intelligence legislation Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:05

Investigating the politics and content of US State artificial intelligence legislation

By: Srinivas Parinandi, Jesse Crosson, Kai Peterson, Sinan Nadarevic

Abstract:

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its application by businesses has created a potential need for governmental regulation. While the federal government of the United States has largely sidestepped the issue of crafting law dictating limitations and expectations regarding the use of AI technology, US state legislatures have begun to take the lead in this area. Nonetheless, we know very little about how state legislatures have approached the design, pursuit, and adoption of AI policy and whether traditional political fault lines have manifested themselves in the AI issue area. Here, we gather data on the state-level adoption of AI policy, as well as roll call voting on AI bills (classified on the basis of consumer protection versus economic development), by state legislatures and analyze the political economy of AI legislation. We find that rising unemployment and inflation are negatively associated with a state’s AI policymaking. With respect to individual legislator support, we find that liberal lawmakers and Democrats are more likely to support bills establishing consumer protection requirements on AI usage. The results suggest that economic concerns loom large with AI and that traditional political fault lines may be establishing themselves in this area.

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Pro-carbon policymaking in renewable portfolio standards: An empirical assessment

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:03:05 +0000

Pro-carbon policymaking in renewable portfolio standards: An empirical assessment Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:03

Pro-carbon policymaking in renewable portfolio standards: An empirical assessment

By: Srinivas C Parinandi, Sara Hoose, Hyodong Sohn

Abstract:

Here, we develop and deploy a procedure to identify pro-carbon policymaking in state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policy from 1983–2011. We then evaluate a battery of plausible theoretical explanations that could account for state-level adoption of pro-carbon RPS policy. We ultimately find substantial support linking pro-carbon RPS policy adoption to states with high coal production doing so proactively in order to protect that industry in the face of possible Obama administration electricity policy action; and we find possible (though less robust) support for the same explanation with respect to states with high natural gas production. One implication of our findings is that states might utilize policymaking to protect component industries of their electricity sectors given Biden administration electricity policymaking, and another implication is that states might utilize the same process to protect non-fossil fuel-based sources of carbon emissions.

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Residency blues: The unintended consequences of police residency requirements

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:01:03 +0000

Residency blues: The unintended consequences of police residency requirements Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 15:01

Residency blues: The unintended consequences of police residency requirements

By: Julia Payson, Srinivas Parinandi

Abstract:

Do residency requirements change bureaucratic performance? We study the case of municipal police departments. While residency rules were popular in the 1970s, many cities and states abolished these policies in the 1990s and early 2000s. Drawing from an original survey and local archival sources, we hand collect data on the police residency laws of nearly 800 of the largest municipalities in the United States over the past three decades. We then test competing theoretical predictions about how these rules impact the racial composition of city police forces and the probability of fatal police–civilian encounters. Using a two-way fixed-effects design, we find that residency requirements modestly improve police diversity, but fatal encounters are actually more likely when residency requirements are in place. This study provides the most credible evidence to date that residency rules do little to improve police performance and may not offer a particularly fruitful avenue for reform.

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