Centralization and Black and Latino Political Empowerment

What is it about?

How do state takeovers of local governments affect Black and Latino political empowerment? Using an original dataset of state takeovers of local school districts, as well as case study analysis of Newark, New Jersey, this article shows that takeovers affect communities differently according to the level of political empowerment they have at the time of takeover.

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Why is it important?

The paper shows that under certain conditions, state takeovers and centralization can actually lead to greater descriptive representation and political empowerment among marginalized populations, which challenges conventional wisdom. On the other hand, the paper also shows, that under other conditions, state takeovers are even more dis-empowering than we previously imagined and understood.