Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Political Science

In discussing the intersection between business and politics, Robert Dahl claimed that there is "no dearth of important and even urgent questions." This dissertation tackles one such question: How do economic firm intervention in the development of the state influence modern outcomes? I argue that when institutions are in transition, firms and state actors both face uncertainty, and as a result, they enter an arrangement in which the state actor consistently provides the firm with public resources in return for patronage. I define this as state capture. Across my three papers, I find that when we focus on the role of firms in political development, there are widespread and long-term consequences for the state and local populations when the state is captured. Across all three of these papers, I explore these ramifications in Appalachia Kentucky. State capture is not a novel concept, but its usage is uneven and unclear, and there is no cohesive intellectual conversation. The first paper ameliorates this by taking this literature and synthesizing a concept from which we can derive clearer implications. I use Kentucky and the Appalachian coal region to explore this concept. I collect archival data to test one observable implication of the concept---lack of democratic commitment and non-competitive elections. I find the inverse of what I expect to observe, elections in Appalachia Kentucky, for the locally elected sheriff and tax commissioner are more competitive than my theory predicts. I discuss this finding considering my concept and argue that this represents a need for understanding how economic firms can influence political outcomes. The second paper applies the conceptualization of state capture more deeply to the case of Appalachia Kentucky, to create a model to better understand the region's persistent economic underdevelopment. I argue that compared to previous Appalachian development models, understanding the region's local politics as captured is empiric (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Amanda Robinson (Committee Chair); Jan Pierskalla (Committee Member); Janet Box-Steffensmeier (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2024, Business Administration

This study explores the perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among Generation Z in relation to their political views. The objective of the study was to analyze how political alignment may influence Gen Z college students' attitudes towards CSR initiatives and to identify the potential impacts this may have on their consumer behavior. Using a survey-based quantitative methodology, the research was conducted among undergraduates at Ohio University, focusing on their reactions to hypothetical companies engaged in CSR activities that aligned with either liberal or conservative causes. Results from 183 valid responses indicated a significant correlation between the political beliefs of respondents and their CSR perceptions. Specifically, liberal students exhibited a stronger preference for CSR activities associated with liberal causes, such as climate change, while conservative students showed greater support for causes like gun rights. Conservatives showed a similar level of support for climate change and gun rights. These preferences significantly influenced their perceived morality of the companies and their anticipated consumption behaviors with the company. The study concludes that political orientation is a crucial factor in shaping Generation Z's perceptions of CSR, especially among those identify as liberal. The findings suggest that businesses should consider the political leanings of this Gen Z to effectively tailor their CSR strategies and enhance brand loyalty among consumers.

Committee: Jessica Weeks (Advisor); Raymond Frost (Advisor); Jacob Hiler (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration; Marketing

Master of Arts in History, Cleveland State University, 2020, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Prior to Tom L. Johnson's election to mayor of Cleveland in 1901, the city's tax system was rife with inequality. Johnson sought to correct these inequalities by democratizing Cleveland's tax system. To accomplish this aim, he established a new department in City Hall, called the “tax school,” which was designed to educate Clevelanders about the existing tax system's failures as well as Johnson's proposed solutions. The tax school worked to improve the tax assessment process by implementing a scientific approach, improving transparency, and soliciting citizen input. Johnson's efforts, however, met with resistance from an entrenched business elite that employed the state legislature and courts to destroy Johnson's tax school. Through political campaigns of misinformation, usurpation of the primary process, and stuffing key tax institutions with friendly partisans, these business elites conspired to control the tax machinery of Cuyahoga County. This study of Johnson's efforts to democratically reform Cleveland's tax system reveals how the city's business elite colluded to destroy the tax school and to retain the levers of tax power. In providing the canonical account of Cleveland's tax school, I situate the history of the tax school within a multi-party negotiation governed by unequal power relationships between business elites and the rest of society. The wealthiest Clevelanders possessed the greatest access to the tax system, and they used that access to rig the system in their favor.

Committee: J. Mark Souther (Advisor); Thomas J. Humphrey (Committee Member); Stephanie D. Hinnershitz (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History

Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2017, Political Science

This thesis will take a case study approach to apply the theory of Quiet Politics to the 2008 Great Recession and the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

Committee: DeLysa Burnier Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Banking; Finance; Organizational Behavior; Political Science; Public Administration

Master of Arts, John Carroll University, 2013, Humanities

The art patronage of Cosimo “il Vecchio” de' Medici (1389-1464) and Grand Duke Cosimo “il Primo” de' Medici (1519-1574) seemed to be driven by very different ideals. While il Vecchio was driven by business and politics, il Primo was driven by politics and dynastic concerns....It will be shown that when Cosimo “il Vecchio” de' Medici was the Medici patriarch (1434-1464), Medici business strength was at its greatest while Medici portraiture was minimal. On the other end of the spectrum, after Cosimo I de' Medici became the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569, Medici political power reached its pinnacle, as did dynastic portraiture.

Committee: Linda Koch PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Art History

BA, Oberlin College, 1987, Economics

The idea of a politically-motivated business cycle is basically a conspiracy theory: "office-motivated" politicians, seeking to exploit the well-documented relationship between favorable economic news and votes for the incumbent president and his party, manipulate the timing of business cycles for their own electoral gain. This manipulation, theorists maintain, is effected through the use of any of several policy instruments including discretionary federal spending, government transfer payments, and the average tax rate, as well as pressure on the central bank to pursue a more accommodating monetary policy. Theories of such a cycle seem to fall in and out of favor with each passing presidential election. William Nordhaus's pioneering paper, "The Political Business Cycle" (1975), emerged in the aftermath of Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, which even a former Nixon speechwriter described as a case of "open[ing] the sluices and letting the dollars flow." Edward Tufte, author of Political Control of the Economy, an in-depth analysis of the interdependence of economics and elections, has. acknowledged that Nixon's re-election was the inspiration for his book as well. Currently, after the supply shocks of the mid- and late-1970s, which in 1980 resulted in a (presidential) election-year recession for the first time since 1960, "there has been relatively little theoretical work on the 'political business cycle' for several years." With the re-election of Ronald Reagan in 1984, however, after which some observers claimed they detected a political cycle behind the economic growth patterns of the 1981-84 period , the next few years may well see a resurgence of political business cycle (PBC) literature. In keeping with the present lull in new PBC theories, many economists, in reviews of PBC literature and elsewhere, have been sharply critical of the previous empirical work in this area. James Alt and K. Alec Crystal, in their 1983 book Political Economics. conclude a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Edward Gamber (Advisor); Hirschel Kasper (Advisor); Robert Piron (Advisor); James Zinser (Advisor); Luis Fernandez (Advisor) Subjects: Economic History; Economic Theory; Economics; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2013, History

Matt Ferguson argues in "Baseball as Community Identity: Cleveland, Ohio --1891-2012," that through studying key flashpoints in Cleveland baseball history by focusing on the history of League Park, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and Jacobs/Progressive Field, the positive memories of Cleveland Indians fans, circulated among generations of the team's boosters, have functioned as a shared myth that conceals the negative realities of professional baseball as big business. Fans past and present have created a story of the stadium as a place of civic worship, the team members as familiar neighbors, and the game as an event where gender and race cease to divide. Fans have passed on their characterization of baseball as the great social leveler, providing an emotional glue to secure succeeding generations of loyal supporters, thus effectively disguising the hard and unromantic business of sport and community identity.

Committee: Rebecca Mancuso PhD (Advisor); Ruth Herndon PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Business Community; Business Costs; Demographics; Economics; Folklore; Gender; History; Journalism; Marketing; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Museums; Regional Studies; Religion; Rhetoric; Sociology; Sports Management; Urban Planning