What's in It for Me?

Serra, George

doi:10.1177/1532673x9402200401

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The conventional wisdom among several scholars of congressional politics is that electorally vulnerable members should develop a home style that amplifies their attentiveness towards their constituents (Ashworth & Bueno de Mesquita, 2006;Bernhard and Tracy 2018;Cain, Ferejohn, and Fiorina 1987;Epstein & Frankovic, 1982;Fenno, 1978Fenno, , 1978Fiorina 1977;Freeman and Richardson 1996;Miler, 2010;Serra, 1994). This literature suggests that it would be politically wise for electorally vulnerable members to be hyper responsive to their district as a way to improve their reputation with the voters (Bond, 1985;Fenno, 1978;Fiorina 1977).…”

Section: The Electoral Influence On the Allocation Of Staff And Distr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…District staffers are also responsible for updating the representative on local issues that are salient to the district and the voters. Both legislative activities, in theory, are potentially electorally rewarding for an incumbent (Cain, Ferejohn, and Fiorina 1987;Dropp & Peskowitz, 2012;Fenno, 1978;Freeman and Richardson 1996;Romero, 2006;Serra, 1994;Sulkin, Testa, and Usry 2015). Moreover, district staffers organize the representative's trips to the district, which is a vital task as research shows that a member of Congress's traveling activities can greatly impact their standing with voters (e.g., Fenno, 1978;Parker and Goodman 2009;2013;Rosenson, 2009).…”

Section: The Electoral Influence On the Allocation Of Staff And Distr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations

Byers

Shay

2023

American Politics Research

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Students of legislative politics are divided over the relationship between electoral vulnerability and the type of “home style” members of Congress adopt in terms of their district staffing decisions. The conventional wisdom asserts that an increase in electoral vulnerability corresponds with a legislator increasing the number of district staffers. However, another body of works implies that the inverse relationship should occur. To settle these competing claims, we explore the staffing decisions of legislators serving in the House of Representatives between the 101st and 113th Congress. We find that an increase in electoral vulnerability is associated with a decrease in district staffers. These results cast doubt on the widely held view that a legislator’s electoral vulnerability results in an increase in district attentiveness at least in terms of their district staff. Additionally, our findings provide several insights into the relationship between elections and representation.

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Section: The Electoral Influence On the Allocation Of Staff And Distr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Electoral Influence On the Allocation Of Staff And Distr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations

Byers

Shay

2023

American Politics Research

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What They Do Does Matter: Incumbent Resource Allocations and the Individual House Vote

Romero

2006

Polit Behav

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It is reasonable to presume that House incumbents through their behaviors and resource allocations (e.g., trips home, staff, etc.) are responsible for their electoral success. The empirical case for the resource allocation hypothesis, however, rests primarily upon the support of a few experimental design studies. The remainder of the evidence from 25 years of tests of this hypothesis, at the district and individual-levels, is littered with null findings. Scholars suggest two methodological obstructions hinder alternative hypothesis findings: simultaneity bias (in district and individuallevel studies), and restricted variance on the allocation measures (in individual-level studies). In this investigation I apply methodological remedies for these hindrances-nonrecursive analyses on a pooled (1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)) NES elections data set. I uncover the strongest evidence yet that incumbents benefit electorally from their resource allocations (here: bills sponsored and cosponsored, staff, and district offices). In addition to this main result, I also discuss the influence generational replacement has on resource allocations and the vote.Keywords Constituency service AE Incumbent vote AE Incumbency advantage AE Personal vote AE Resource allocations I would like to thank F.S. for data collection, Gary C. Jacobson for sharing his challenger quality data, Richard J. Harris for his methodological assistance, and the Brown Bag Gang for their helpful comments.

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The mayor's advantage: Causal evidence on incumbency effects in German mayoral elections

Freier

2015

European Journal of Political Economy

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What's in It for Me?

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations

What Explains a Representative’s Staffing “Style”? Exploring the Relationship between Congressional Staffing Decisions and Electoral Considerations

What They Do Does Matter: Incumbent Resource Allocations and the Individual House Vote

The mayor's advantage: Causal evidence on incumbency effects in German mayoral elections

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