Professional Legislatures and Ambitious Politicians
Policy Responsiveness of State Institutions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6301378 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cherie Maestas (0000-0001-7443-7772, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 663 |
| Publication date | 2000-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Legislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2307/440439 |
| OpenAlex | W2038593991 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 100 |
| References cited | 22 |
This paper examines the relationship between professionalism, progressive ambition, and legislative responsiveness in state legislatures. I argue that professional legislatures that foster and support progressive ambition will be more responsive to aggregate constituency concerns than will less professional legislatures. Institutions that attract progressively ambitious members create a natural incentive for representation because legislators are motivated to identify and respond to the interests of broad-based constituencies in preparation to pursue higher office. Consistent with this argument, I find that states with more professional legislatures and more opportunities for members to progress to higher office have greater aggregate opinionpolicy congruence, even after controlling for the effects of electoral competition and alternative policy influences
Economics · Legislature · Political economy · Political science · State (computer science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Public Administration
Parties and professionals, an exploration of turnover in U.S. state legislatures
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The Seat Dataset
Term Limits as a Boon to Legislative Scholarship
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The Conditional Effect of Term Limits on Electoral Activities
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Institutional Design and Policy Responsiveness in US States
Pushing Constitutional Limits in the U.S. States
Too Much Democracy? Exploring the Link between Majoritarian Institutions and Disparities in the American States
What Drives States to Raise Gas Tax Rates? An Empirical Analysis
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Legislative Control and Partisan Disparities in Dyadic Representation
The responsiveness of state legislatures and their agenda concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender interests
Addressing the “Union Problem” during the Great Recession
The electoral connection, state attorneys general, and the dynamics of incarceration rates
Motorcycle Helmet Laws in the United States From 1990 to 2005
Sex and the Statehouse
Candidate Extremism and Electoral Design in U.S. State Legislative Elections
When Do States Pursue Targeted Economic Development Policies? The Adoption and Expansion of State Enterprise Zone Programs
Institutional design and the stability of responsiveness in the American states
High Hurdles
Should We Measure Professionalism with an Index? A Note on Theory and Practice in State Legislative Professionalism Research
National Policies, Agendas, and Polarization in American State Legislatures
Changing Patterns of Income Inequality in U.S. Counties, 1970–2000
The Thermostatic Model of Responsiveness in the American States
Formal and Perceived Leadership Power in U.S. State Legislatures
Hot Districts, Cool Legislation
Compensation, Opportunity, and Information
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Public Approval ofU.S. State Legislatures
National Party Efforts to Recruit State Legislators to Run for the U.S. House
Multidimensional Responsiveness
Bottom‐Up Federalism
States Testing the Legal Limits
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Does Electoral Accountability Make a Difference? Direct Elections, Career Ambition, and Legislative Performance in the Argentine Senate
Gaining and Losing Interest in Running for Public Office
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Legislative Term Limits and Polarization
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The Incentive to Listen
Fiscal Effects of the Voter Initiative Reconsidered
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The Source of the Legislative Professionalism Advantage
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Using Social Media Data to Reveal Patterns of Policy Engagement in State Legislatures
Public Support for Professional Legislatures
Legislative Term Limits and Voter Turnout
Evaluating Policy Representation with Dynamic MRP Estimates
Institutional Characteristics and State Policy Priorities
Do Term Limits Affect Legislative Roll Call Voting? Representation, Polarization, and Participation
When is AG Short for Aspiring Governor? Ambition and Policy Making Dynamics in the Office of State Attorney General
Hispanic Population Growth and State Immigration Policy
Does Issue Alignment Matter? The Electoral Cost and Reward of Agricultural Representation in Urban and Rural Areas
Voter uncertainty, political institutions, and legislative turnover
Laboratories of Politics
Public Opinion, Public Policy, and Organized Interests in the American States
The Impact of District Magnitude on the Legislative Behavior of State Representatives
Ambition, Gender, and the Judiciary
Ambitious Women
Studying Immigrant Policy One Law at a Time
The Diffusion of Erin's Law
The Impact of Temporary Immigrant Workforce Growth on Employee Verification Policies in the United States
Policy responsiveness and media attention
The Mandate Divide in Policy Representation
Disentangling the Relationship between Legislative Professionalism and Government Spending
Bicameralism Hinges on Legislative Professionalism
The Role of Ideology in State Legislative Elections
Legislative Capacity in Germany's Parliaments
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Strategic Constituency Manipulation in State Legislative Redistricting
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Political Ambition in 14 Presidential Democracies
Legislative Professionalism and Influence on State Agencies
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The politics of immigrant policy in the 50 US states, 2005-2011
Administering Representation
Legislative pay and voluntary retirement in the American states
Polity Size Matters? The Effect of Country Size on Politicians' Professionalization
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Do More Professionalized Legislatures Discriminate Less? The Role of Staffers in Constituency Service
The Effects of Legislative Term Limits on State Fiscal Conditions
Understanding Institutional Change
Be Careful what You Count
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What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations
Do Mayors Run for Higher Office? New Evidence on Progressive Ambition
What Is, and Isn’t, Causing Polarization in Modern State Legislatures
Dissolution risk and legislative effort of politicians
Quality challenger emergence under the top-two primary
Gay Rights in the States
Policy Preferences and Policy Change
Representation in State Legislatures
Inter-Party Competition, Economic Variables, and Welfare Policies in the American States
Career Intentions and Electoral Performance of Members of the U. S. House
The Effect of U. S. State Legislative Term Limits Revisited
Progressive Ambition in the House
Member Career Opportunities and the Internal Organization of Legislatures
Professionalization and Public Opinion of State Legislatures
Presidential Address
Effects of Public Opinion and Political System Characteristics on State Policy Outputs
Vanishing Marginals in State Legislative Elections
Legislative Professionalization and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures
State Legislative Development
Legislative Careers in Six States
Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition
State Legislators in Congress
The Mediating Influence of State Legislatures on the Linkage Between Interparty Competition and Welfare Policies
Professionalism, Realignment, and Representation
Electoral Competition in the American States
The Etiology of Partisan Competition
State Legislative Reform and Public Policy
Divided Government in the American States
Conflict in the Community
| Unique citing works | 100 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2001 - 2026 (26) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 100 |