1. Reexamining Representation and Heterogeneity: A Research Validation and Extension.
- Author
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Allred, Brandy
- Subjects
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REPRESENTATIVE government , *UNITED States legislators , *VOTING , *POLITICAL participation - Abstract
Studying the relationship between constituency preferences and legislators' votes has been fundamental for empirical inquiry about representation. The most common approach to this type of research is dyadic and focuses on how members of Congress represent their geographic constituents. These studies account for member voting behavior with rationales including representational style, ideology, partisanship, and constituent preferences (e.g., Fenno 1978; Levitt 1996; Cox and McCubbins 1993; Canes-Wrone, Brady, and Cogan 2004). By also taking voter heterogeneity into account, however, Bailey and Brady (1998) present a unique empirical analysis for explaining representational linkages. Their analysis provides evidence that studies of representation based on analysis of roll call voting which fail to account for voter heterogeneity will overestimate the impact of the party and undervalue constituency influence. Bailey and Brady, however, measure voter heterogeneity with demographic variables which do not reliably indicate voter heterogeneity on the policy issue they assess (as I explain further in this paper).In this study I provide evidence that the connection between constituency interests and representative voting behavior is clearer when one accounts for voter heterogeneity specific to the legislation. As a research validation, I conduct ordered probit analysis of Senate voting on renewable energy legislation in the 110th Congress. As a research extension, I measure voter heterogeneity by accounting for each state's percentage of industry that generates non-renewable and renewable energy. I have collected all the data for this project and carried out extensive empirical analyses that confirm my argument above. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009