Research
Democratic theory requires that representatives are responsive to their constituents. We expect legislators and executives to translate public policy preferences into actual policy, with elections legitimizing those actors and their policies. In contrast, courts are usually designed as non-majoritarian institutions, insulated from public accountability. My interest is in understanding how majoritarian institutions (e.g., legislatures, executives) influence non-majoritarian institutions (e.g., courts) in the American democratic system. This relationship creates a tension between judicial independence and judicial accountability. Courts can vary in terms of their independence from or accountability to other policy-making institutions and the public, creating different incentives and implications for judicial behavior.
Two broad questions inspire my current research; these questions have prompted my dissertation, multiple publications, and ongoing lines of inquiry. First, I ask what motivates variation in court-curbing activity and judicial independence across the United States? And concomitantly, what is the effect of those activities? Second, how does the public influence extrajudicial behavior of judges (outside of their formal roles in court)? In studying these questions, my research focuses on the dynamic interplay between and among courts, policy-making institutions, and the public.
My work has been published or is forthcoming in Political Research Quarterly, Justice System Journal, Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, among other scholarly journals.
I also co-founded the COVID-19 Policy Response Lab at Binghamton University, through which I have published on COVID-19 policy responses, US state politics, and comparative courts.
Two broad questions inspire my current research; these questions have prompted my dissertation, multiple publications, and ongoing lines of inquiry. First, I ask what motivates variation in court-curbing activity and judicial independence across the United States? And concomitantly, what is the effect of those activities? Second, how does the public influence extrajudicial behavior of judges (outside of their formal roles in court)? In studying these questions, my research focuses on the dynamic interplay between and among courts, policy-making institutions, and the public.
My work has been published or is forthcoming in Political Research Quarterly, Justice System Journal, Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, among other scholarly journals.
I also co-founded the COVID-19 Policy Response Lab at Binghamton University, through which I have published on COVID-19 policy responses, US state politics, and comparative courts.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Michael Catalano. 2022. “Ex Ante and Ex Post Control over Courts in the US States: Court Curbing and Political Party Influence.” Justice System Journal 43(4): 503-523. doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2022.2123287
VanDusky-Allen, Julie A., Stephen M. Utych, and Michael Catalano. 2022. “Partisanship, Policy, and Americans’ Evaluations of State-Level COVID-19 Policies Prior to the 2020 Election.” Political Research Quarterly 75 (2): 479-496. doi.org/10.1177%2F10659129211056374
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Mert Can Bayar, Onsel Gurel Bayrali, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Hyoungrohk Chu, Frank Gianelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Dina Rosenberg, Didem Seyis, Bradley Skopyk, Julie VanDusky-Allen, and Tianyi Zhao. 2022. “Protective Policy Index (PPI) Global Dataset of Origins and Stringency of COVID 19 Mitigation Policies.” Scientific Data (Nature) 9 (319). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01437-9
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Frank Giannelli, Michael Catalano, and Olivia Catalano. 2022. “Can Correlation Between Governor's Party and COVID-19 Morbidity Be Explained by the Differences in COVID-19 Mitigation Policies in the States?” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 62 (6): E381- E383. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.01.003
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Frank Giannelli, Michael Catalano, and Olivia Catalano. 2022. “Governor's Party, Policies, and COVID-19 Outcomes: Further Evidence of an Effect.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 62 (3): 433-437. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.09.003
Shvetsova, Olga, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Andrei Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Gianelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Dina Rosenberg, Mehmet Halit Sezgin and Tianyi Zhao. 2021. “Federal Institutions and Strategic Policy Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic.” Frontiers in Political Science 3 (June): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.631363
Adeel, Abdul Basit, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Grant Gibson, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Olga Shvetsova, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “COVID-19 Policy Response and the Rise of the Sub-national Governments” Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques 46 (4): 565-584. doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-101
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Tianyi Zhao. 2020. “Institutional Origins of Protective COVID-19 Public Health Policy Responses: Informational and Authority Redundancies and Policy Stringency”. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy 1 (4): 585-613. dx.doi.org/10.1561/113.00000023
Book Chapters
Hayley Munir, Michael Catalano, and Wendy Martinek. Forthcoming. “Judicial Decision Making on Lower Federal Courts.” In Research Handbook of Judicial Politics, eds. Michael Fix and Matthew Montgomery. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Michael Catalano. 2023. “Can the US Constitution Handle Political Parties?” in The US Constitution in Five Minutes, eds. David Klein and Joseph Smith. Sheffield (UK): Equinox Publishing Home.
Michael Catalano and Aaron Chan. 2023. “Common Law Systems and COVID-19 Policy Response: Protective Public Health Policy in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.” In Government Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, ed. Olga Shvetsova. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan.
Gerald Benjamin and Michael Catalano. 2020. “New York State’s ‘Multi+’ Party System” in Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics, ed. Richard Davis. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Michael Catalano. 2022. “Ex Ante and Ex Post Control over Courts in the US States: Court Curbing and Political Party Influence.” Justice System Journal 43(4): 503-523. doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2022.2123287
VanDusky-Allen, Julie A., Stephen M. Utych, and Michael Catalano. 2022. “Partisanship, Policy, and Americans’ Evaluations of State-Level COVID-19 Policies Prior to the 2020 Election.” Political Research Quarterly 75 (2): 479-496. doi.org/10.1177%2F10659129211056374
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Mert Can Bayar, Onsel Gurel Bayrali, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Hyoungrohk Chu, Frank Gianelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Dina Rosenberg, Didem Seyis, Bradley Skopyk, Julie VanDusky-Allen, and Tianyi Zhao. 2022. “Protective Policy Index (PPI) Global Dataset of Origins and Stringency of COVID 19 Mitigation Policies.” Scientific Data (Nature) 9 (319). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01437-9
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Frank Giannelli, Michael Catalano, and Olivia Catalano. 2022. “Can Correlation Between Governor's Party and COVID-19 Morbidity Be Explained by the Differences in COVID-19 Mitigation Policies in the States?” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 62 (6): E381- E383. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.01.003
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Frank Giannelli, Michael Catalano, and Olivia Catalano. 2022. “Governor's Party, Policies, and COVID-19 Outcomes: Further Evidence of an Effect.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 62 (3): 433-437. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.09.003
Shvetsova, Olga, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Andrei Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Gianelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Dina Rosenberg, Mehmet Halit Sezgin and Tianyi Zhao. 2021. “Federal Institutions and Strategic Policy Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic.” Frontiers in Political Science 3 (June): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.631363
Adeel, Abdul Basit, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Grant Gibson, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Olga Shvetsova, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “COVID-19 Policy Response and the Rise of the Sub-national Governments” Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques 46 (4): 565-584. doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-101
Shvetsova, Olga, Andrei Zhirnov, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Tianyi Zhao. 2020. “Institutional Origins of Protective COVID-19 Public Health Policy Responses: Informational and Authority Redundancies and Policy Stringency”. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy 1 (4): 585-613. dx.doi.org/10.1561/113.00000023
Book Chapters
Hayley Munir, Michael Catalano, and Wendy Martinek. Forthcoming. “Judicial Decision Making on Lower Federal Courts.” In Research Handbook of Judicial Politics, eds. Michael Fix and Matthew Montgomery. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Michael Catalano. 2023. “Can the US Constitution Handle Political Parties?” in The US Constitution in Five Minutes, eds. David Klein and Joseph Smith. Sheffield (UK): Equinox Publishing Home.
Michael Catalano and Aaron Chan. 2023. “Common Law Systems and COVID-19 Policy Response: Protective Public Health Policy in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.” In Government Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, ed. Olga Shvetsova. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan.
Gerald Benjamin and Michael Catalano. 2020. “New York State’s ‘Multi+’ Party System” in Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics, ed. Richard Davis. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Select Presentations
“Implications of Court Curbing in the U.S. States.” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 2022.
“Measuring Court Curbing in the US States.” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, [virtual], September 2021.
“#BLM and Silence by State Supreme Courts: Representation or Insulation?” Paper presented at the Law and Society Association Annual Conference, [virtual], May 2021.
“Ex Ante and Ex Post Control over Courts in the US States: Court Curbing and Political Party Influence.” Paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference [virtual], April 2021.
“Measuring Court Curbing in the US States.” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, [virtual], September 2021.
“#BLM and Silence by State Supreme Courts: Representation or Insulation?” Paper presented at the Law and Society Association Annual Conference, [virtual], May 2021.
“Ex Ante and Ex Post Control over Courts in the US States: Court Curbing and Political Party Influence.” Paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference [virtual], April 2021.
Working Papers
“#BLM and Silence by State Supreme Courts: Representation or Insulation?” (with Matthew Walz, Michael Romano, and Todd Curry) Invited to Revise and Resubmit
"Implications of Court Curbing in the US States."
"Measuring Court Curbing."
“Supreme Court Appearances and Legitimacy.” (with Sara Benesh, Wendy Martinek, and Taraleigh Davis)
“Safeguarding Presidential Policy through Appointments to the US Court of Appeals.” (with Allison Bugenis)
“State Supreme Court Endorsements by Interest Groups.” (with Nathan Henceroth, Hayley Munir, and Marcy Shieh)
"Fusion Voting and Legislative Behavior.” (with Matthew Walz)
"Implications of Court Curbing in the US States."
"Measuring Court Curbing."
“Supreme Court Appearances and Legitimacy.” (with Sara Benesh, Wendy Martinek, and Taraleigh Davis)
“Safeguarding Presidential Policy through Appointments to the US Court of Appeals.” (with Allison Bugenis)
“State Supreme Court Endorsements by Interest Groups.” (with Nathan Henceroth, Hayley Munir, and Marcy Shieh)
"Fusion Voting and Legislative Behavior.” (with Matthew Walz)
COVID-19 Policy Response Project
In COVID-19, humans confront an immediate threat unlike any that existed in the lives of several generations. It is not created by us, it is sudden, and it affects everyone and impacts globally. Are our political institutions up for the task of managing this and any possible future threats like this? When societies need to quickly and decisively respond to protect us, which types of governments are best suited to provide the necessary response?
Our focus is the role of democratic institutions generally, and among democracies of the institutions of federalism in particular, in effecting policy responses during crisis. How does regime and institutional variation translate in policy responses -- their speed and strength? Will democracy save us during the COVID-19 crisis through the creativity of its may policy leaders or doom us due to not possessing enough control over every aspect of its citizens existence?
Working Paper Series
Shvetsova, Olga, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, and Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “Institutional origins of COVID-19 public health protective policy response (PPI) data set v. 1.2 (countries).” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 107. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/7/
Shvetsova, Olga, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, and Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “Institutional Origins of Protective COVID-19 Policies Dataset V. 1.2 – regional US and Canada PPI.” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 106. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/6/
Riggs, Tara and Michael Catalano. 2020. "(S)He Who Acts First: Gendered Gubernatorial Response to Pandemic in Divided Government." Working Papers Series. 5. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/5/ .
Olga Shvetsova, Andrey Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Hyoungrohk Chu, Garrett DuMond, Georgian-Marius Ghincea, Jason Means, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Almira Sadykova, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Julie VanDusky-Allen, and Tianyi Zhao. 2020. “Constitutional and Institutional Structural Determinants of Policy Responsiveness to Protect Citizens from Existential Threats: COVID-19 and Beyond.” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 104. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/4/
Shvetsova, Olga; Catalano, Michael; Chu, Hyoungrohk; Dumond, Garrett K.; Muftuoglu, Ezgi; Ozutemiz, Hasan; Sadykova, Almira; and Riggs, Tara, "Policy Error and Policy Rescue in COVID-19 Responses in the United States and United Kingdom" (2020). Working Papers Series. 3
Home Site: https://www.binghamton.edu/political-science/covid-response/corona/index.html
Our focus is the role of democratic institutions generally, and among democracies of the institutions of federalism in particular, in effecting policy responses during crisis. How does regime and institutional variation translate in policy responses -- their speed and strength? Will democracy save us during the COVID-19 crisis through the creativity of its may policy leaders or doom us due to not possessing enough control over every aspect of its citizens existence?
Working Paper Series
Shvetsova, Olga, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, and Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “Institutional origins of COVID-19 public health protective policy response (PPI) data set v. 1.2 (countries).” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 107. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/7/
Shvetsova, Olga, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Frank Giannelli, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Naveed Tahir, Julie VanDusky-Allen, Tianyi Zhao, and Andrei Zhirnov. 2020. “Institutional Origins of Protective COVID-19 Policies Dataset V. 1.2 – regional US and Canada PPI.” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 106. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/6/
Riggs, Tara and Michael Catalano. 2020. "(S)He Who Acts First: Gendered Gubernatorial Response to Pandemic in Divided Government." Working Papers Series. 5. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/5/ .
Olga Shvetsova, Andrey Zhirnov, Abdul Basit Adeel, Michael Catalano, Olivia Catalano, Hyoungrohk Chu, Garrett DuMond, Georgian-Marius Ghincea, Jason Means, Ezgi Muftuoglu, Tara Riggs, Almira Sadykova, Mehmet Halit Sezgin, Julie VanDusky-Allen, and Tianyi Zhao. 2020. “Constitutional and Institutional Structural Determinants of Policy Responsiveness to Protect Citizens from Existential Threats: COVID-19 and Beyond.” Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence Working Papers Series. 104. https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/4/
Shvetsova, Olga; Catalano, Michael; Chu, Hyoungrohk; Dumond, Garrett K.; Muftuoglu, Ezgi; Ozutemiz, Hasan; Sadykova, Almira; and Riggs, Tara, "Policy Error and Policy Rescue in COVID-19 Responses in the United States and United Kingdom" (2020). Working Papers Series. 3
Home Site: https://www.binghamton.edu/political-science/covid-response/corona/index.html
