Consistency versus Responsiveness
Do Members of Congress Change Positions on Specific Issues in Response to Their Districts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6340318 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adam Cayton (0000-0002-4836-6963, University of West Florida, corresponding author), Adam F Cayton (University of West Florida, Pensacola, USA) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-18 |
| Publication date | 2017-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Research Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1065-9129 • E-ISSN: 1938-274X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1065912916670271 |
| OpenAlex | W2523807728 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 58 |
While democratic theory suggests that representatives should be willing to adjust their issue positions to adapt to new circumstances, politicians face serious political risks from “flip flopping.” How do members of Congress balance these risks? Using an original data set of district economic conditions and opinion from 2007 to 2010 and sets of repeated roll call votes, I leverage the exogenous shock of the Great Recession to explain position change on three major economic policies. I find that position change occurs in response to the constituency on final passage votes, but that partisan pressures exert greater influence, especially on procedural votes. This novel test of responsiveness has implications for the nature of policy representation and the mechanisms behind aggregate responsiveness
Consistency (knowledge bases · Democracy · Economics · Great recession · Labour economics · Leverage (statistics · Macroeconomics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · Recession · Shock (circulatory · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Finance
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Congressional Communication in a Pandemic
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Multidimensional Responsiveness
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Heterogeneity and Representation
Constituency Opinion and Congressional Behavior
Congressional Responsiveness to Constituency Change
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Out of Step, Out of Office
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,38 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |