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Careerism, Committee Assignments, and the Electoral Connection

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  • Katz, Jonathan N.
  • Sala, Brian R.

Abstract

Most scholars agree that members of Congress are strongly motivated by their desire for reelection. This assumption implies that members of Congress adopt institutions, rules, and norms of behavior in part to serve their electoral interests. Direct tests of the electoral connection are rare, however, because significant, exogenous changes in the electoral environment are difficult to identify. We develop and test an electoral rationale for the norm of committee assignment “property rights.” We examine committee tenure patterns before and after a major, exogenous change in the electoral system—the states' rapid adoption of Australian ballot laws in the early 1890s. The ballot changes, we argue, induced new “personal vote” electoral incentives, which contributed to the adoption of “modern” congressional institutions such as property rights to committee assignments. We demonstrate a marked increase in assignment stability after 1892, by which time a majority of states had put the new ballot laws into force, and earlier than previous studies have suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Katz, Jonathan N. & Sala, Brian R., 1996. "Careerism, Committee Assignments, and the Electoral Connection," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(1), pages 21-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:90:y:1996:i:01:p:21-33_20
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    Cited by:

    1. Leandro De Magalhães & Salomo Hirvonen, 2015. "Multi-Office Incumbency Advantage: Political Careers in Brazil," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 15/662, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    2. Joseph McGarrity, 2006. "The committee assignment process as an optimal contracting problem," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 433-455, September.
    3. Iain Hampsher‐Monk & Andrew Hindmoor, 2010. "Rational Choice and Interpretive Evidence: Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place?," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(1), pages 47-65, February.
    4. Joseph McGarrity, 2005. "Macroeconomic conditions and committee re-election rates," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 453-480, September.

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