Spreading Influence Through Weak Ties: Cosponsorship, Legislative Networks, and Bill Success in Fragmented Congresses

Abstract

Literature on legislative success tends to focus on independent variables of which lawmakers have scarce control. This article analyzes instead how legislators’ strategies affect their success in Congress. I posit that while weak ties between congresspeople are the most useful in increasing success in the chamber of origin under majoritarian settings, they do not raise the likelihood of bill approval in the second chamber or in plurality‐led legislatures. Building on a data set that contains all bills proposed to the Argentine Congress between 1983 and 2007, results support these context‐dependence hypotheses. I then use data from the Uruguayan Congress (1995–2010) to explore how the argument plays out in a Latin American legislature with weaker gatekeeping rules (i.e., an “open sky” legislature). Findings help gain insight into the strategies used in environments different from that of the widely studied U.S. Congress.

Why are some parliamentarians’ bills more likely to progress? Sponsorship as a signal

“…For example, using co-sponsorship data at the state level, Kirkland (2011) advances a model whereby when policy ties among members are weaker, meaning more heterogeneity, the chances of legislative success increases. Similarly, using data from Argentina and Uruguay, Skigin (2019) shows that weak connections, or infrequent collaboration, predict legislators’ own bills moving forward in the chamber of origin. 2 Mapping co-sponsorship networks in the US Senate and House of Representatives, Fowler (2006) shows that social distance between parliamentarians matters for legislative success in passing amendments on the floor.…”

Centralidad y productividad legislativa en la Cámara de Diputados Argentina, 1983-2019

“…Quienes estudian el éxito legislativo en Latinoamérica han utilizado como unidad de análisis las propuestas de ley (Alemán y Calvo 2008, 2010Hiroi 2008;Htun et al 2013;Calvo y Chasquetti 2016;Skigin 2019;Dockendorff 2020). Esto permite evaluar cómo las características específicas de cada iniciativa afectan la probabilidad de ser aprobada por la cámara o transformarse en ley.…”