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Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?

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  • CARNES, NICHOLAS
  • HANSEN, ERIC R.

Abstract

If politicians in the United States were paid better, would more middle- and working-class people become politicians? Reformers often argue that the low salaries paid in state and local governments make holding office economically infeasible for lower-income citizens and contribute to the enduring numerical under-representation of the working class in our political institutions. Of course, raising politicians’ salaries could also make political office more attractive to affluent professionals, increasing competition for office and ultimately discouraging lower-income citizens from running and winning. In this article, we test these hypotheses using data on the salaries and economic backgrounds of state legislators. Contrary to the notion that paying politicians more promotes economic diversity, we find that the descriptive representation of the working class is the same or worse in states that pay legislators higher salaries. These findings have important implications for research on descriptive representation, political compensation, and political inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Carnes, Nicholas & Hansen, Eric R., 2016. "Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(4), pages 699-716, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:110:y:2016:i:04:p:699-716_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuelle Auriol & Nicolas Bonneton & Mattias Polborn, 2023. "Shaking Up the System: When Populism Disciplines Elite Politicians," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_473, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    2. Jan Auerbach, 2018. "Office-Holding Premia and Representative Democracy," Discussion Papers 1802, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    3. Auerbach, Jan, 2022. "Productive Office and Political Elitism," MPRA Paper 114582, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Markus Jokela & Jaakko Meriläinen & Janne Tukiainen & Åsa von Schoultz, 2022. "Personality Traits and Cognitive Ability in Political Selection," Discussion Papers 152, Aboa Centre for Economics.
    5. Mitchell Hoffman & Elizabeth Lyons, 2020. "A time to make laws and a time to fundraise? On the relation between salaries and time use for state politicians," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 1318-1358, August.
    6. Thomas Braendle & Alois Stutzer, 2017. "Voters and Representatives: How Should Representatives Be Selected?," CREMA Working Paper Series 2017-05, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).

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