The Economic Backgrounds of Politicians
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6232709 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholas Carnes (0009-0000-3506-8273, Duke University), Noam Lupu (0000-0001-9545-1864, Vanderbilt University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 253-270 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annual Review of Political Science (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-2939 • E-ISSN: 1545-1577 |
| Publisher | Annual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1146/annurev-polisci-051921-102946 |
| OpenAlex | W4313856417 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 51 |
| References cited | 99 |
Research on the economic backgrounds of politicians is once again flourishing in political science. In this article, we describe the economic characteristics that scholars have recently studied and the common threads that have emerged in modern work on this topic. This growing literature is largely united by a shared concern about the unequal economic makeup of institutions: Recent studies generally agree that politicians tend to be vastly better off than citizens on every economic measure and that politicians from different economic backgrounds tend to think and behave differently in office. However, the literature is far from a consensus regarding why politicians are so economically advantaged. Going forward, there are numerous opportunities for future work to address this gap; to extend the literature to new countries, institutions, and time periods; and to better understand how economic backgrounds intersect with race, gender, and other social characteristics
Flourishing · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Work (physics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies
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Coincidental Representation
A Relational Approach to the Study of Gender Attitudes
The Normalization of the Radical Right
Unequal Democracies
On policy responsiveness
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Party selectors, voters, and the choice of productive representatives under different types of list proportional representation
An emotional climate
When are politicians incentivized to vote? Evidence from individual-level panel data (2015–2023)
The comparative political economy of inequality
Defending exclusion
Do Voters and Candidates Share the Same Views on Democracy? Support for and Satisfaction with Democracy in Switzerland
Democratic Innovation Beyond Contestation
Are socialists and populists better connected to the working class? Comparing politicians’ intimate social ties in 13 countries
Wealth and Policymaking in the U.S. House of Representatives
Are elected representatives’ intimate ties representative? Examining their socio-economic status in 13 countries
What contributes to an attractive local political office? Evidence from municipal council elections in Switzerland
Party gatekeeping of working-class candidates under closed-list proportional representation
Why parties can benefit from promoting occupational diversity in legislatures
Exploring the influence of wealth on judicial decision making
What Happens When Women Win Elections? The Electoral Returns to Increased Representation of Women
State repression and elite support for international human rights
Do Elites Know Best? Candidate Selection and Policy Implementation in Postindependence Tanzania
Like ’Em Rich? Public Perceptions and Opinions of Politicians’ Wealth
District-based elections and class-based representation
Are the Politically Active Better Represented
Still Going Strong? The Social and Political Relevance of Class Identification Over Time in Four Countries
The economic consequences of businesspeople in politics
Education as Identity? A Meta-Analysis of Education-Based In-Group Preferences in Candidate Choice Experiments
Are There Social Class Gaps in Nascent Political Ambition? Survey Evidence from the Americas
We Didn’t Know What We Were Eating Tomorrow
Stepping Up the Political Ladder
Millionaire Justices and Attitudes Towards the Supreme Court
Political competition and representation in municipal councils
How can we accept ‘our’ decisions
Poor choices? Examining the electoral connection behind unequal policy representation
Chosen (not) to win? Party nomination strategies and the unequal class representation in parliament
Political Responsiveness, Information Provision, and Capacity Gaps
Policymakers’ Abortion Preferences
Political Inequality in Rich Democracies
Antipolitical class bias in corruption sentencing
The Gendered Cost of Politics
The Global Legislators Database
The Electoral Appeal of Symbolic Class Signalling Through Cultural Consumption
Paths to Power
Do working-class candidates activate class-based voting
Careerism and working-class decline
My History or Our History? Historical Revisionism and Entitlement to Lead
The Class Ceiling in Politics
Politicians' Theories of Voting Behavior
Personal Roots of Representation
White-Collar Government
Bankers, Bureaucrats, and Central Bank Politics
Who Becomes A Politician?
Social Mobility and Redistributive Politics
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
Working-Class Officeholding in the OECD
Parliamentary Representatives in Europe 1848–2000
Do Lawyers Get More Votes
Affluence and Influence
Race, class, or both? Responses to candidate characteristics in Canada, the UK, and the US
Do ministers’ occupational and social class backgrounds influence social spending
The reconfiguration of India’s political elite
When does class matter? Unequal representation in Indonesian legislatures
Blue collars striking the Red Flag
A Rational Theory of the Size of Government
Do Educated Leaders Matter
Political Selection and Economic Policy
Political Representation in the Korean National Assembly
Reducing Unequal Representation
Does the Numerical Underrepresentation of the Working Class in Congress Matter
Race, Resources, and Representation
What Good Is a College Degree? Education and Leader Quality Reconsidered
Business Owners and Executives as Politicians
Affluence and Congruence
Professional Backgrounds in State Legislatures, 1993‐2012
Diversity in Party Leadership in State Legislatures
Does Higher Education Matter for MPs in their Parliamentary Work? Evidence from the Swedish Parliament
The Poor Political Representation of the Poor in a Comparative Perspective
Political Socialization and Political Roles
What Voters Want
Political Leaders, Economic Hardship, and Redistribution in Democracies
Identifying voter preferences for politicians’ personal attributes
Instant Credibility
Does the American Dream Matter for Members of Congress
Working-Class Legislators and Perceptions of Representation in Latin America
How Social‐Class Background Influences Perceptions of Political Leaders
Party Elites’ Preferences in Candidates
Acceptable Difference
Pink‐Collar Representation and Budgetary Outcomes in US States
Class War in the Voting Booth
Why Are There So Many Lawyers in Congress
It’s a rich man’s world
Post-conflict democratisation in Sierra Leone
Not just money
Lawyers and law graduates in parliaments as a consequence of SMD electoral systems
The Supply and Demand Model of Candidate Selection
Does Class Shape Legislators’ Approach to Inequality and Economic Policy? A Comparative View
The Nomination and Electoral Competitiveness of Working Class Candidates in Germany
Voter preferences as a source of descriptive (mis)representation by social class
Cabinet ministers and inequality
The impact of class on political attitudes
Why are the affluent better represented around the world
Educational Backgrounds of Latin American Legislators
Careerists Versus Coal-Miners
The Comparative Study of Elite Socialization
The Legitimacy of Representation
The Continued Significance of Class Voting
Who Enters Politics and Why
Toward a New Political Methodology
Studying Leaders and Elites
Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation
When Do Leaders Free‐Ride? Business Experience and Contributions to Collective Defense
To Run or Not to Run for Office
The Diminishing Value of Representing the Disadvantaged
Policy Alienation, Social Alienation and Working-Class Abstention in Britain, 1964–2010
If Only More Candidates Came Forward
The Historical Changes and Continuities of Swiss Parliamentary Recruitment
Does it Matter that Most Representatives are Higher Educated
Legislator Wealth and the Effort to Repeal the Estate Tax
Ballot Cues, Business Candidates, and Voter Choices in Local Elections
Social Background and Intra-party Attitudes in Ireland
How voters assess elite-educated politicians
Unequal policy responsiveness in the Netherlands
Social Background in Elite Analysis
The Democratic Class Struggle in the United States, 1948-1992
The Social Background of Political Decision-Makers
Do Unions Promote Members' Electoral Office Holding? Evidence from Correlates of State Legislatures' Occupational Shares
Unequal policy responsiveness in Spain
Do citizens make inferences from political candidate characteristics when aiming for substantive representation
From opinions to policies
Do humble beginnings help? How politician class roots shape voter evaluations
Voter reactions to candidate background characteristics depend on candidate policy positions
Union Experience and Worker Policy
To Emerge? Breadwinning, Motherhood, and Women's Decisions to Run for Office
Do Voters Dislike Working-Class Candidates? Voter Biases and the Descriptive Underrepresentation of the Working Class
Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures
Career Patterns of Mexico's Political Elite
Division or Union of Labor? Analyzing Workers' Representation in the Argentine Congress
Degrees of Support
| Unique citing works | 51 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 17 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 48 |