Student Events

Edoardo Teso, Northwestern State Capacity as an Organizational Problem. Evidence from the Growth of the U.S. State Over 100 Years Abstract: We study how the organization of the state evolves over the process of development of a nation, using a new dataset on the internal organization of the U.S. federal bureaucracy over 1817-1905. First, we show a series of novel facts, describing how the size of the state, its presence across the territory, and its key organizational features evolved over the nineteenth century. Second, exploiting the staggered expansion of the railroad and telegraph networks across space, we show that the ability of politicians to monitor state agents throughout the territory is an important driver of these facts: locations with lower transportation and communication costs with Washington DC have more state presence, are delegated more decision power, and have lower employee turnover. The results suggest that high monitoring costs are associated with small, personalistic state organizations based on networks of trust; technological innovations lowering monitoring costs facilitate the emergence of modern bureaucratic states.

Bringing together activists and leaders working in local and national movements for racial and economic equality, climate justice, worker rights and power, and a strong democracy. In cities across the United States, everyday people are working to transform our democracy by strengthening their voices in local government, shaping an economy that works for all, and reimagining public safety and health. They are organizing locally to imagine and build a new future where people have good jobs, affordable housing, climate justice, and a real voice in the decisions that affect our lives. Join us in Buffalo for Uniting on the High Road, June 20-22, 2024, a conference bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, and organizers from these broad movements for racial and economic justice and authentic democracy. The conference will include speakers from local and national organizations like PowerSwitch Action, Good Jobs First, ALIGN, Demos, Bargaining for the Common Good, Grassroots Collaborative of Chicago, New Yorkers United for Child Care, and local unions, universities, and partners in government. Come and take part in interactive workshops, field experiences in Buffalo neighborhoods, art performances, and collective artmaking as we learn from each other and imagine future collaboration within and across cities. The cost for this conference is $275.

Bringing together activists and leaders working in local and national movements for racial and economic equality, climate justice, worker rights and power, and a strong democracy. In cities across the United States, everyday people are working to transform our democracy by strengthening their voices in local government, shaping an economy that works for all, and reimagining public safety and health. They are organizing locally to imagine and build a new future where people have good jobs, affordable housing, climate justice, and a real voice in the decisions that affect our lives. Join us in Buffalo for Uniting on the High Road, June 20-22, 2024, a conference bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, and organizers from these broad movements for racial and economic justice and authentic democracy. The conference will include speakers from local and national organizations like PowerSwitch Action, Good Jobs First, ALIGN, Demos, Bargaining for the Common Good, Grassroots Collaborative of Chicago, New Yorkers United for Child Care, and local unions, universities, and partners in government. Come and take part in interactive workshops, field experiences in Buffalo neighborhoods, art performances, and collective artmaking as we learn from each other and imagine future collaboration within and across cities. The cost for this conference is $275.

Bringing together activists and leaders working in local and national movements for racial and economic equality, climate justice, worker rights and power, and a strong democracy. In cities across the United States, everyday people are working to transform our democracy by strengthening their voices in local government, shaping an economy that works for all, and reimagining public safety and health. They are organizing locally to imagine and build a new future where people have good jobs, affordable housing, climate justice, and a real voice in the decisions that affect our lives. Join us in Buffalo for Uniting on the High Road, June 20-22, 2024, a conference bringing together leaders, advocates, researchers, and organizers from these broad movements for racial and economic justice and authentic democracy. The conference will include speakers from local and national organizations like PowerSwitch Action, Good Jobs First, ALIGN, Demos, Bargaining for the Common Good, Grassroots Collaborative of Chicago, New Yorkers United for Child Care, and local unions, universities, and partners in government. Come and take part in interactive workshops, field experiences in Buffalo neighborhoods, art performances, and collective artmaking as we learn from each other and imagine future collaboration within and across cities. The cost for this conference is $275.