The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-96
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4849451 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah A Binder, Sarah Binder (0000-0002-9489-6551, Brookings Institution, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 519-533 |
| Publication date | 1999-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2585572 |
| OpenAlex | W1979672194 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 255 |
| References cited | 33 |
David Mayhew'sDivided We Govern(1991) sparked an industry of scholars who alternately challenge or confirm the work on theoretical and empirical grounds. Still, we lack a definitive account of the proportions and causes of legislative gridlock. I revisit the effects of elections and institutions on policy outcomes to propose an alternative theory of gridlock: The distribution of policy preferences within the parties, between the two chambers, and across Congress more broadly is central to explaining the dynamics of gridlock. To test the model, I construct a measure that assesses legislative output in proportion to the policy agenda. Using newspaper editorials to identify every salient legislative issue between 1947 and 1996, I generate Congress-by-Congress gridlock scores and use them to test competing explanations. The results suggest that intrabranch conflict-perhaps more than interbranch rivalry-is critical in shaping deadlock in American politics
Argument (complex analysis · Deadlock · Divided government · Economics · Gridlock · Law and economics · Legislature · Microeconomics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rivalry · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
The Origins of Informality
Democracy More or Less
The American Congress
The American Congress Reader
Does Bicameralism Matter?
Setting the Agenda
American Rage
Causes and Consequences of Polarization
Mass Polarization Across Time and Space
Policy Instrument Interactions in Policy Mixes
The dynamics of the feud over Iraq
Informal Caregiving and the Politics of Policy Drift in the United States
The Atlantic Alliance Under Stress
The Democratic Peace and Territorial Conflict in the Twentieth Century
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Divided government, polarization, and policy
Can Information Decrease Political Polarization? Evidence From the U.S. Taxpayer Receipt
A House Divided? Roll Calls, Polarization, and Policy Differences in the U.S. House, 1877–2011
Insights from the Blinder—Oaxaca Decomposition on Polarization in the US Senate
Paygo for punctuality
Limited Foresight and Gridlock in Bargaining
Filibusted? The mixed effects of “going nuclear”
Polarizing figures in polarized times
O senado e as aprovações de autoridades
Divisions at Home, Broken Promises Abroad? How Domestic Politics Shapes the United States’ Nuclear Credibility
Going it Alone
Why Do States Pursue Medicaid Home Care Opportunities? Explaining State Adoption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Home and Community-Based Services Initiatives
The Behavioral Political Economy of Budget Deficits
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Lobbying across the USA
Framing and immigration through the trump era
Foreign Policy Votes and Presidential Support in Congress
Senate Reservations to Security Treaties
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Elite Polarization in South Korea
The Impact of Divided Government on the Supreme Court Appointment Process
The Political Economy of Policy Gridlock in S outh K orea
Racial Redistricting and Ideological Polarization in Southern U.S. House Delegations
Comparing Presidents' Economic Policy Leadership
Contingent Party Pressure and Legislative Gridlock
Dynamics of Partisan Competition for Legislative Majorities in the U.S. House & Senate, 1959–2020
Constitutional Change and American Pivotal Politics
Are Initiatives an End-Run Around the Legislative Process? Divided Government and Voter Support for California Initiatives
Governing Through Gridlock
Overlapping Political Conflicts and Legislative Gridlock
Congressional polarization and limitation riders in foreign aid appropriations
Delayed but not derailed
Towards a sustainable apprenticeship framework
Influence of politicians’ ideology on their legislative activities
Partisanship, Slavery, and the Demise of the National Road
George W. Bush and Congress
Antipartyism and Public Opinion toward Presidential Unilateral Actions
Talking at parties
Partisan mortality cycles
The Surprising Career of Federal Fair Housing Law
The Disappearing Conference Committee
Congressional Use of Authorization and Oversight
Legislation Against the Odds
The Political Economy of High‐Skilled Immigration
Senate confirmation of cabinet appointments
Exploring voting behavior on American Indian legislation in the United States Congress
Divided government and the bias against presidential restraint
Losing Control
War power through restraint
The Contemporary Presidency
Networking in the Shadow of Hierarchy
Polls and Elections Using Approval of the President's Handling of the Economy to Understand Who Polarizes and Why
Above the Fray? The Use of Party System References in Presidential Rhetoric
Congressional Support of the President
Coalition Building and Overcoming Legislative Gridlock in Foreign Policy, 1947–98
Opportunism in Polarization
Signing Statements, Gridlock, and Presidential Strategy
The Electoral Roots of A merica's Dysfunctional Government
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The Changing Nature of Presidential Policy Making on International Agreements
The Incentives of Leaders in International Organizations
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Divided Government and Significant Legislation
Environmental legislative standstill and bureaucratic politics in the USA
Administrator Political Orientations and Views on Federal Encroachment
Patterns and Predictors of Enactment of State Childhood Obesity Legislation in the United States
The Jeffords switch and legislator rolls in the U.S. Senate
Presidential Success in the Realm of Foreign Affairs
Bully Partisan or Partisan Bully
It's Complicated
Presidential Communication During the Legislative Process
Bureaucrats in Congress
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Careful what you promise
Veto players in presidential regimes
Lawmaking and News Making
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Measurement, model testing, and legislative influence in the European Union
Public opinion and policy output in the European Union
Institutional constraints, legislative activism and policy change
If things can only get worse
Pathways to policy
Judicial Influence on Policy Outputs? The Political Constraints of Legal Integration in the European Union
The cycles of American history
Constitutional Government in the United States
Bicameralism
American Politics
Politics, parties, & pressure groups.
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
Public Opinion in America
Pivotal Politics
Strategic Disagreement
The presidency and the political system
The Congressional Party
Sizing Up the Senate
American Politics
The Congressional Party
Comparing Interest Group Scores across Time and Chambers
American Business, Public Policy, Case-Studies, and Political Theory
Divided We Govern? A Reassessment
Political Parties and Public Policy
Divided Government and the Passage of Partisan Legislation, 1947-1990
An Essay on Sequence, Position, Goals, and Committee Power
The Justification of Bicameralism
The Legislative Impact of Divided Government
Decision Making in Political Systems
The Two Presidencies
Needed
The Core of the Constitution
The Short Session of Congress
Dynamic Representation
| Unique citing works | 255 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9,44 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2026 (28) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 255 |