Parinandi's work deals with identifying the structural determinants of policy diffusion or contagion across the United States. He explores how institutional structures (like systems of legislative organization and regulation) can conditionally amplify as well as slow down processes of cross-governmental policy diffusion. The study of diffusion depends on the use of statistical techniques involving the proper measurement of influences across space and time; Parinandi consequently utilizes spatial econometric analysis and geographic information systems in his own research. Topically, Parinandi also researches the motivations surrounding the adoption of renewable energy portfolio standards (RPSs) in the United States and focuses on two aspects of the development of renewable energy policy: first, he evaluates how the incentives of regulatory commissions influence energy policy choices; and second, he examines how price sensitivity affects public support for renewable energy regulations. Parinandi also increasingly is researching the historical determinants of state-level regulation, the policy implications of regulatory choices (particularly with respect to opioid and criminal justice policy), and policy diffusion in comparative perspective.
keywords
Policy diffusion, state economic competition, regulation, spatial econometrics, geographic information systems, energy policy including renewables and conventional sources, public policy, legislative studies, energy and public health, AI policy
PSCI 1101 - Introduction to American Politics
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2021 / Summer 2021 / Spring 2022 / Summer 2022 / Summer 2024
Emphasizes interrelations among levels and branches of government, formal and informal institutions, processes, and behavior.
PSCI 2075 - Quantitative Research Methods
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Summer 2023
Introduces quantitative research methods used in political science. Focuses on basic tools of analysis: data collection, processing, and evaluation, with special attention to survey techniques. Includes elite and case study analysis; aggregate, cluster, and content analysis; and the use of computers in political research.
PSCI 2106 - Introduction to Public Policy Analysis
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2019 / Summer 2020 / Fall 2020
Studies policymaking processes in American government, factors shaping public decision, and issues and questions relevant to political inquiry.
PSCI 3011 - The American Presidency and the Executive Branch
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023
Examines the constitutional, institutional and historical development of the presidency and the federal bureaucracy. Explores the changing role of the executive branch in the U.S. political system over time and competing views of executive power.
PSCI 7108 - Special Topics
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2023
Various topics not normally offered in the curriculum. Topics vary each semester. May be repeated up to 12 total credit hours.
PSCI 7111 - Seminar: American Political Institutions
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023
Intensive examination of the structure and rules of different political institutions in the United States. Explores both the changing approaches to the study of American political institutions as well as many ofthe major research topics on the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, and the bureaucracy.
PSCI 7126 - Introduction to Public Policy
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020
Designed for graduate students specializing in the field of public policy in the political science program. Surveys a wide variety of approaches to the analysis and understanding of public policy. The course is not a survey of any particular set of substantiative policy areas but instead is intended as an examination of the enduring puzzles that analysts of public policy commonly confront, the kinds of research methodologies that they employ, and a selection of the techniques that they bring to bear on their research questions.
PSCI 7306 - Program Evaluation
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023
Focuses on applying the tools of causal inference and program evaluation to various policy issues. The course materials explore whether programs meet their desired goals. There are a number of ways in which the �effectiveness� of a program can be defined and measured. Empirical applications based on real-world data will be drawn from a wide range of policy areas, including education, welfare, unemployment, discrimination, health, immigration, the environment, and economic development. Previously offered as a special topics course.
