Research Catalog

Title

Electoral incentives in Congress / Jamie L. Carson and Joel Sievert.

Author

Carson, Jamie L.

Publication

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2018]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Sievert, Joel

Description

xiii, 199 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"David Mayhew's (1974) thesis regarding the "electoral connection" and its impact on legislative behavior has become the theoretical foundation for much of the existing research on the modern U.S. Congress. In its most basic form, Mayhew's theory contends that once in office, legislators pursue whatever actions put them in the best position to achieve reelection. The electoral connection has traditionally been considered a phenomenon of the post-World War II environment, but legislative scholars have begun to suggest that Mayhew's argument applies to politics in earlier congressional eras as well. To assess these disparate claims more systematically, Carson and Sievert investigate whether legislators in earlier historical eras were motivated by many of the same factors that influence their behavior today, especially with regard to the pursuit of reelection. In this respect, they examine the role of electoral incentives in shaping legislative behavior across a wide swath of the nineteenth century. This entails looking at patterns of turnover in Congress across this period, the politics underlying renomination of candidates, the changing role of parties in recruiting candidates to run and its broader effect on candidate competition, as well as electoral accountability across a variety of dimensions. The results have wide-ranging implications for the evolution of Congress and the development of various legislative institutions over time"--

Series Statement

Legislative politics & policy making

Uniform Title

Legislative politics & policy making.

Subject

• United States. Congress > History > 19th century
• United States. Congress > Elections
• United States. Congress
• 1800-1899
• Legislators > United States > History > 19th century
• Elections
• Legislators
• United States

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Contemporary and historical evidence for an electoral connection -- Unpacking the electoral connection -- Candidates and competition in US House races, 1820-88 -- Nomination and turnover patterns in the US House -- Ballots, election timing, and the personal vote -- Electoral accountability in US House elections -- Reevaluating electoral incentives in Congress.

Call Number

JFE 18-7021

ISBN

• 9780472130795
• 047213079X

LCCN

• 2017057640
• 99977332883

OCLC

1012347083

Author

Carson, Jamie L., author.

Title

Electoral incentives in Congress / Jamie L. Carson and Joel Sievert.

Publisher

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2018]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Legislative politics & policy making

Legislative politics & policy making.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chronological Term

1800-1899

Added Author

Sievert, Joel, author.

Other Standard Identifier

99977332883

Research Call Number

JFE 18-7021