Benjamin Schneer

Assistant Professor

Harvard Kennedy School

benjamin_schneer -at- hks.harvard.edu | @BenSchneer

CV | Data

Publications

"'Descended from Immigrants and Revolutionists': How Family History Shapes Immigration Policymaking" with James Feigenbaum and Maxwell Palmer. Forthcoming at Quarterly Journal of Economics. 2024. (Open Access)

"A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define-Combine Procedure" with Maxwell Palmer and Kevin Deluca. 2024. Political Analysis 32 (3): 295–310. **Summary and DCP Simulator** (Open Access)

"The Popular Origins of Legislative Jurisdictions: Petitions and Standing Committee Formation in Revolutionary Virginia and the Early U.S. House" with Tobias Resch, Maggie McKinley and Daniel Carpenter. 2022. Journal of Politics 84 (3): 1727–1745.  (Alt Link)

"Partisan Alignment Increases Voter Turnout: Evidence from Redistricting" with Bernard Fraga and Daniel J. Moskowitz. 2022. Political Behavior 44: 1883–1910.  (Open Access) **Political Behavior Best Paper Award**

"Congressional Representation by Petition: Assessing the Voices of the Voteless in a Comprehensive New Database, 1789–1949" with Maggie Blackhawk, Tobias Resch, and Daniel Carpenter. 2021.  Legislative Studies Quarterly 46 (3): 817--849. (Alt Link) **Cited in Brief of Amici Curiae American Historians in Support of Respondents in Trump v. Anderson**

"From the Halls of Congress to K Street: Government Experience and Its Value for Lobbying" with Pamela Ban and Maxwell Palmer. 2019. Legislative Studies Quarterly 44 (4): 713-752. (Alt Link)

"Reevaluating Competition and Turnout in U.S. House Elections" with Daniel J. Moskowitz. 2019. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 14: 191-223. (Alt Link)

"Postpolitical Careers: How Politicians Capitalize on Public Office" with Maxwell Palmer. 2019. Journal of Politics 81 (2): 670-675. (Alt Link)  

"Suffrage Petitioning as Formative Practice: American Women Presage and Prepare for the Vote, 1840-1940" with Daniel Carpenter, Zachary Popp, Tobias Resch, and Nicole Topich. 2018. Studies in American Political Development 32 (1): 24-48. (Alt Link)

"Paths of Recruitment: Rational Social Prospecting in Petition Canvassing" with Clayton Nall and Daniel Carpenter. 2018. American Journal of Political Science 62 (2): 192-209. (Alt Link) **AJPS Best Paper Award (Co-Winner)**

"Divided Government and Significant Legislation: A History of Congress from 1789--2010" with Stephen Ansolabehere and Maxwell Palmer. 2018. Social Science History 42 (1): 81-108.  (Alt Link)

"How the News Media Activate Public Expression and Influence National Agendas" with Gary King and Ariel White. 2017.  Science 358 (6364): 776-780.  (Alt Link)

"Capitol Gains: The Returns to Elected Office from Corporate Board Directorships" with Maxwell Palmer. 2016. Journal of Politics 78 (1): 181-196.  (Alt Link)

"Party Formation Through Petitions: The Whigs and the Bank War of 1832--1834" with Daniel Carpenter. 2015. Studies in American Political Development 29 (2): 1-22.   (Alt Link)

Working Papers

"A Drag on the Ticket? Estimating Top-of-the-Ticket Effects on Down Ballot Races" with Kevin DeLuca and Daniel J. Moskowitz. Conditionally Accepted at American Journal of Political Science.

"Durable Majority Gerrymanders: Where Partisan Gerrymandering can Displace Democracy" with Maxwell Palmer. R&R at American Journal of Political Science.

"The Allocation of Effort in the U.S. Congress" with Jaclyn Kaslovsky and Daniel J. Moskowitz. 

"From Petitioners to Voters: Assessing the Effect of Electoral Reform on Citizen Engagement and Agenda Setting."

"Policy Consequences of Civil Society: Evidence from German-American Counter-Mobilization to Prohibition" with Tobias Resch. HKS Working Paper No. RWP22-004 (SSRN).

"Extreme Leaders as Negotiation Anchors" with David C. King and Richard Zeckhauser. HKS Working Paper No. RWP20-015.

Work in Progress

"Paywalls" with Desmond Ang, Avi Moorthy, and Stephen Pettigrew.

"Misperceptions of Life Expectancy" with Desmond Ang.

Chapters in Edited Volumes, Reports, and Other Publications

"Racially Polarized Voting Analysis for the Virginia Redistricting Commission" (with Maxwell Palmer). August 31, 2021.

"Review of Evaluating Media Bias, by Adam J. Schiffer." 2020. American Review of Politics 37 (1): 106-8.

"The Arizona Redistricting Commission: One State's Model for Gerrymandering Reform" (with Colleen Mathis and Daniel J. Moskowitz). Ash Center Policy Brief, 2019. Press Release.

"What Has Congress Done?" with Stephen Ansolabehere and Maxwell Palmer. 2016. Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America, eds. Alan S. Gerber and Eric Schickler. New York: Cambridge University Press.

“An Analysis of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Congressional District Map” (with Gary King). Submitted to Department of Justice, 2012.

“An Analysis of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Legislative District Map” (with Gary King). Submitted to Department of Justice, 2012.

Selected Media

"How Politicians can Draw Fairer Election Districts -- the Same Way Parents Make Kids Fairly Split a Piece of Cake." The Conversation, February 20, 2024. Republished in SF Chronicle and Fast Company.

"Drawing a Line." Harvard Kennedy School Magazine. Winter 2020.

"Drawing the Line on Gerrymandering." HKS PolicyCast (Podcast), December 10, 2019.

"Are Divided Governments the Cause of Delays and Shutdowns?" The Science of Politics (Podcast), January 2, 2019.

"Canvassers Tend to Seek Out Supporters Who Are Like Themselves, and That’s Not Good for Political Participation" (with Daniel Carpenter and Clayton Nall). LSE USAPP Blog, November 1, 2017

“How and Why Retired Politicians Get Lucrative Appointments on Corporate Boards” (with Maxwell Palmer). The Washington Post (Monkey Cage), February 1, 2015.