IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/pubcho/v33y1978i3p5-13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cycles in senatorial voting behavior: implications for the optimal frequency of elections

Author

Listed:
  • Ryan Amacher
  • William Boyes

Abstract

The effect that the length of electoral periods has on the behavior of elected officials is examined. The hypothesis is that the longer the period between elections the less responsible or the more independent representatives will behave relative to the desires of their polity. The hypothesis is tested by examining the behavior of U.S. Senators. It is found that their independence follows a cyclical behavior which conforms to the electoral period. As a result it is by no means clear that decreasing the frequency of elections reduces the cost of elections. The effect of this independence cost on the optimal frequency of elections is discussed. Copyright Martinus Nijhoff Publishers b.v 1978

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan Amacher & William Boyes, 1978. "Cycles in senatorial voting behavior: implications for the optimal frequency of elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 5-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:33:y:1978:i:3:p:5-13
    DOI: 10.1007/BF00154680
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/BF00154680
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/BF00154680?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reuben Gronau, 1970. "The Demand for Transportation," NBER Chapters, in: The Value of Time in Passenger Transportation: The Demand for Air Travel, pages 12-21, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Reuben Gronau, 1970. "The Value of Time," NBER Chapters, in: The Value of Time in Passenger Transportation: The Demand for Air Travel, pages 7-11, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. R. Tollison & T. Willett, 1973. "Some simple economics of voting and not voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 59-71, September.
    4. Reuben Gronau, 1970. "The Value of Time in Passenger Transportation: The Demand for Air Travel," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gron70-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political business cycles 40 years after Nordhaus," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 235-259, January.
    2. A. Glazer & M. Robbins, 1985. "How elections matter: A study of U.S. senators," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 163-172, January.
    3. W. Reed & D. Schansberg & James Wilbanks & Zhen Zhu, 1998. "The relationship between congressional spending and tenure with an application to term limits," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 85-104, January.
    4. Laurent Bouton & Paola Conconi & Francisco Pino & Maurizio Zanardi, 2018. "Guns, Environment, and Abortion: How Single-Minded Voters Shape Politicians' Decisions," Working Papers wp459, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    5. René Lindstädt & Ryan Wielen, 2011. "Timely shirking: time-dependent monitoring and its effects on legislative behavior in the U.S. Senate," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 119-148, July.
    6. Robert Tollison, 2009. "On good government," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 22(2), pages 127-130, June.
    7. Kenneth Greene & Hadi Salavitabar, 1982. "Senatorial responsiveness, the characteristics of the polity and the political cycle," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 263-269, January.
    8. John Lott & W. Reed, 1989. "Shirking and sorting in a political market with finite-lived politicians," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 75-96, April.
    9. Laurent Bouton & Paola Conconi & Francisco Pino & Maurizio Zanardi, 2013. "Guns and Votes," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2013-39, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
      • Laurent Bouton & Paola Conconi & Francisco Pino & Maurizio Zanardi, 2014. "Guns and Votes," NBER Working Papers 20253, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
      • Laurent Bouton & Paola Conconi & Francisco Pino & Maurizio Zanardi, 2013. "Guns and votes," Working Papers 43819146, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
      • Zanardi, Maurizio & Conconi, Paola & Bouton, Laurent & Pino, Francisco, 2013. "Guns and Votes," CEPR Discussion Papers 9726, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Michael Davis & Philip Porter, 1989. "A test for pure or apparent ideology in congressional voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 101-111, February.
    11. G. Sav, 1986. "The politics of race in higher education: Governing boards and constituents," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 147-155, January.
    12. Conconi, Paola & Facchini, Giovanni & Zanardi, Maurizio, 2014. "Policymakers' horizon and trade reforms: The protectionist effect of elections," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 102-118.
    13. Laurent Bouton & Paola Conconi & Francisco Pino & Maurizio Zanardi, 2021. "The Tyranny of the Single-Minded: Guns, Environment, and Abortion," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 48-59, March.
    14. Kenneth A. Shepsle & Robert P. Van Houweling & Samuel J. Abrams & Peter C. Hanson, 2009. "The Senate Electoral Cycle and Bicameral Appropriations Politics," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 343-359, April.
    15. Neligh, Nathaniel, 2024. "Rational memory with decay," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 120-145.
    16. Zoltán Fazekas & Martin Ejnar Hansen, 2022. "Incentives for non-participation: absence in the United Kingdom House of Commons, 1997–2015," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 51-73, April.
    17. George Tridimas, 2017. "Constitutional choice in ancient Athens: the evolution of the frequency of decision making," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 209-230, September.
    18. Ernesto Dal Bó & Martín Rossi, 2008. "Term Length and Political Performance," NBER Working Papers 14511, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political Business Cycles 40 Years after Nordhaus," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01291401, HAL.
    20. Thomas L. Hogan, 2022. "The calculus of dissent: Bias and diversity in FOMC projections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 105-135, April.
    21. Eric Dubois, 2016. "Political Business Cycles 40 Years after Nordhaus," Post-Print hal-01291401, HAL.
    22. Zanardi, Maurizio & Facchini, Giovanni & Conconi, Paola, 2011. "Policymakers? Horizon and Trade Reforms," CEPR Discussion Papers 8251, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    23. Ilan Fischer & Ramzi Suleiman, 1997. "Election Frequency and the Emergence of Cooperation in a Simulated Intergroup Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(4), pages 483-508, August.
    24. William Boyes & John McDowell, 1989. "The selection of public utility commissioners: A re-examination of the importance of institutional setting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 1-13, April.
    25. Gertrud Fremling & John Lott, 1988. "Televising legislatures: Some thoughts on whether politicians are search goods," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 73-78, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James J. Heckman, 2015. "Introduction to A Theory of the Allocation of Time by Gary Becker," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(583), pages 403-409, March.
    2. Philippe Cazenave, 1971. "Valeur économique du temps et théorie de la demande. Le cycle vital du temps," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 22(5), pages 812-842.
    3. Solomon Polachek, 2003. "Mincer's Overtaking Point and the Life Cycle Earnings Distribution," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 273-304, December.
    4. P. G. Reinhardt, 1976. "Stock-Flow Analysis in Consumption and Household Production Theory: A Review and Synthesis," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 112(I), pages 95-104, March.
    5. Poorman, John P., 1974. "The Formulation of a Model to Allocate Costs of a Metropolitan Transportation Improvement," Transportation Research Forum Proceedings 1970s 318448, Transportation Research Forum.
    6. Alderighi, Marco & Gaggero, Alberto A., 2017. "Fly and trade: Evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 51-60.
    7. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:273-304 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Prato, Anthony A., 1975. "Economic Value of Wildlife," WAEA/ WFEA Conference Archive (1929-1995) 323831, Western Agricultural Economics Association.
    9. Freund-Feinstei, Uzi & Bekhor, Shlomo, 2017. "Airline Itinerary Choice In A Dynamic Supply Environment: Results From A Stated Preference Survey," Journal of Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, Cinturs - Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being, University of Algarve, vol. 5(4), pages 400-424.
    10. Yves Crozet, 2016. "Hyper-mobilité et politiques publiques - Changer d'époque ?," Post-Print halshs-01328814, HAL.
    11. J L Naroff & T J Madden & W R Dillon, 1984. "Neighborhood Influences on Travel Behavior and Availability Constraints," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 16(1), pages 33-47, January.
    12. Manuel G. Russon & Craig A. Hollingshead, 1989. "Convenience and Circuity in a Short-Haul Model of Air Passenger Demand," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 19(1), pages 50-56, Winter.
    13. Jacob Hornik, 1982. "Estimating the Time Spent on Shopping Activities," Discussion Papers 524, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    14. Dennis Mueller & Peter Murrell, 1986. "Interest groups and the size of government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 125-145, January.
    15. Freund-Feinstein, Uzi & Bekhor, Shlomo, 2017. "An airline itinerary choice model that includes the option to delay the decision," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 64-78.
    16. Kiyoyasu Tanaka, 2019. "Do international flights promote FDI? The role of face‐to‐face communication," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 1609-1632, November.
    17. Francisco Arcelus & Gary Mauser & Z. Spindler, 1978. "The right to vote no: revising the voting system and resuscitating the F-Y voter," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 67-83, December.
    18. Robert McCormick & Richard McKenzie, 1979. "The cost of voting: Its fiscal impact on government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 271-284, September.
    19. Richard J. Cebula & Gigi M. Alexander, 2017. "Female Labor Force Participation and Voter Turnout: Evidence from the American Presidential Elections," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 8(2).
    20. Jeremy Clark & Abel François & Olivier Gergaud, 2020. "Electoral Turnout and Social Capital," Working Papers in Economics 20/13, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    21. Abdul Noury & Abel François & Olivier Gergaud & Alexandre Garel, 2021. "How does COVID-19 affect electoral participation? evidence from the French municipal elections," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-16, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:33:y:1978:i:3:p:5-13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.