Representation, Elections, and Public Opinion

Most of my research focuses on voting behavior, public opinion, elections, and representation throughout the developing world. 

Work in Progress: The Grassroots Right in Latin America

Lindsay Mayka and I are trying to understand the growing power of right-leaning issues, ideologies, and identities among citizens in Latin America. We are editing a special issue of a journal.

Work in Progress: Democracy in Brazil

In the Brazilian Democracy in the Balance study, Mollie Cohen, Matthew Layton, Mason Moseley, and I aim to understand the nature and consequences of elections in which authoritarian candidates are on the ballot. Our work is based on a five-wave panel study of Brazil’s 2018 election, running from July 2018 to January 2019. 

Research Related to Informal Social Networks and Political Discussion

• • Smith, Amy Erica. 2018. Talking it Out: Political Conversation and Learning in Unequal Contexts. British Journal of Political Science. Online Appendix. Replication files.
  • Ames, Barry, Andy Baker, and Amy Erica Smith. 2017. Social Networks in the Brazilian Electorate. Oxford Handbook of Political Networks, eds. Jennifer Nicoll Victor, Mark Lubell, and Alexander H. Montgomery.
  • Smith, Amy Erica. 2015. The Diverse Impacts of Politically Diverse Networks: Party Systems, Political Disagreement, and the Timing of Vote Decisions. International Journal of Public Opinion Research. Online appendix.
  • Smith, Amy Erica. 2014. Political Connections in the Americas. AmericasBarometer Insights 98.
  • Barry Ames, Miguel García, and Amy Erica Smith. 2012. Keeping Up with the Souzas: Social Influence and Electoral Change in a Weak Party System, Brazil 2002-2006. Latin American Politics and Society. 54(2): 51-78.
  • Steven E. Finkel and Amy Erica Smith. 2011. Civic Education, Political Discussion, and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: Kenya 2002. American Journal of Political Science. 55(2): 417-435. Supporting Information. Replication code.

Research on the Public Opinion Underpinnings of Democracy

• • Cohen, Mollie, and Amy Erica Smith. 2016. Do Authoritarians Vote for Authoritarians? Evidence from Latin America. Research and Politics. *Supplementary Information. *Replication code. *Data can be obtained from the AmericasBarometer.
  • Lucio Rennó, Amy Erica Smith, Matthew L. Layton, & Frederico Batista Pereira. 2011. Legitimidade e Qualidade da Democracia no Brasil: Uma Visão da Cidadania. São Paulo: Editora Intermeios.
  • Barry Ames and Amy Erica Smith. 2010. Knowing Left from Right: Ideological Thinking in the 2002 and 2006 Brazilian Presidential Elections. Journal of Politics in Latin America 2(3): 3-38.
  • Smith, Amy Erica. 2009. Legitimate Grievances: Preferences for Democracy, System Support, and Political Participation in Bolivia. Latin American Research Review 44(3): 102-126.

Research Related to Gender and Race

• • Boas, Taylor, and Amy Erica Smith. 2019. Looks Like Me, Thinks Like Me? Descriptive Representation and Opinion Congruence in Brazil. Latin American Research Review.  *Appendix
  • Al Subhi, Ahlam Khalfan, and Amy Erica Smith. 2019. Electing Women to New Arab Assemblies: The Roles of Gender Ideology, Islam, and Tribalism in Oman. International Political Science Review.
  • Layton, Matthew L., and Amy Erica Smith. 2017. Is It Race, Class, or Gender? The Sources of Perceived Discrimination in Brazil. Latin American Politics and Society. *Online Appendix *Replication code. *Data can be obtained from the AmericasBarometer.
  • Smith, Amy Erica, Katherine Warming, and Valerie M. Hennings. 2016. Refusing to Know a Woman’s Place: The Causes and Consequences of Rejecting Stereotypes of Women Politicians in Latin America. Politics, Groups, and Identities.  *Replication code. Data can be obtained from the AmericasBarometer.

Research Related to Inequality and Social Policy

• • Smith, Amy Erica. 2018. Talking it Out: Political Conversation and Learning in Unequal Contexts. British Journal of Political Science. Online Appendix. Replication files.
  • Smith, Amy Erica. 2017. Democratic Talk in Church: Religion and Political Socialization in the Context of Urban Inequality. World Development.
  • Layton, Matthew L. and Amy Erica Smith. 2015. Incorporating Marginal Citizens and Voters: The Conditional Electoral Effects of Targeted Social Assistance in Latin America. Comparative Political Studies 48(7): 854-81.  *Replication files. *Data can be obtained from the AmericasBarometer.  *Online appendix
  • Layton, Matthew L. and Amy Erica Smith. 2011. Social Assistance Policies and the Presidential Vote in Latin America. AmericasBarometer Insights.

Studies of Elections

• • Duque, Debora, and Amy Erica Smith. 2019. The Establishment Upside Down: A Year of Change in Brazil. Revista de Ciencia Politica. (A review of 2018, for the journal’s Political Yearbook)
  • Ames, Barry, Alyssa Huberts, Fabiana Machado, Lucio Rennó, David Samuels, Amy Erica Smith, and Cesar Zucco. 2016. The Brazilian Electoral Panel Study: 2014 Results. Technical Note IDB-TN-915. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Ames, Barry, Fabiana Machado, Lucio Rennó, David Samuels, Amy Erica Smith, and Cesar Zucco. 2013. The Brazilian Electoral Panel Study. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank. Technical Note IDB-TN-508.
  • Barry Ames, Miguel García, and Amy Erica Smith. 2012. Keeping Up with the Souzas: Social Influence and Electoral Change in a Weak Party System, Brazil 2002-2006. Latin American Politics and Society. 54(2): 51-78.

Image: Rio de Janeiro, 2008