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Ideology and Legislator Shirking

Author

Listed:
  • Nelson, Douglas
  • Silberberg, Eugene

Abstract

The authors argue that legislator shirking (voting on the basis of personal ideology rather than the interests of one's constituents) can exist, but its appearance should conform to the law of demand. They test and confirm this theory using votes on defense expenditure bills in the U.S. Senate in 1982. The authors assume the cost of shirking is relatively higher on narrowly focused bills on specific weapons systems with well-defined beneficiaries, and relatively lower on general defense expenditure bills with uncertain final distribution of funds. Greater influence for senators' ideology in general versus specific bills is found. Copyright 1987 by Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Nelson, Douglas & Silberberg, Eugene, 1987. "Ideology and Legislator Shirking," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 25(1), pages 15-25, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:25:y:1987:i:1:p:15-25
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Morong, Cyril, 1996. "Socio-economic elements in Public Choice research," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 559-569.
    3. Douglass C. North, 1988. "Ideology and Political/Economic Institutions," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 15-28, Spring/Su.
    4. Dennis, Christopher & Medoff, Marshall H. & Magnera, Michael, 2008. "Constituents' economic interests and senator support for spending limitations," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2443-2453, December.
    5. Bon Sang Koo, 2023. "When legislators responded to news media surveys: unstable responses, missing not at random responses, and self-censorship," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1821-1843, April.
    6. Glenn Parker & Matthew Dabros, 2012. "Last-period problems in legislatures," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 789-806, June.
    7. van Wonderen, A.J. & Douwes, B.J. & Suttorp, L.G., 1989. "Stability analysis for absorptive optical bistability in a Fabry-Pérot cavity," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 157(2), pages 907-932.
    8. Potters, Jan & Sloof, Randolph, 1996. "Interest groups: A survey of empirical models that try to assess their influence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 403-442, November.
    9. Douglass C. North, 1991. "Institutions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 97-112, Winter.
    10. Boadu, Frederick O. & Thompson, Marla R., 1993. "The Political Economy Of The U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement: Analysis Of The Congressional Fast Track Vote," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 25(2), pages 1-9, December.
    11. Robert Higgs, 1988. "Hard Coals Make Bad Law: Congressional Parochialism versus National Defense," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 79-106, Spring/Su.
    12. Gregory M. Randolph, 2010. "Measuring the Indirect Effect: Voter Initiatives and Legislative Production in the American States," Public Finance Review, , vol. 38(6), pages 762-786, November.
    13. Gregory M. Randolph, 2014. "Institutions and entrepreneurial productivity in the American states," Chapters, in: Robert F. Salvino Jr. & Michael T. Tasto & Gregory M. Randolph (ed.), Entrepreneurial Action, Public Policy, and Economic Outcomes, chapter 6, pages 100-116, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Neil Longley, 1999. "Voting on Abortion in the House of Commons: A Test for Legislator Shirking," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 25(4), pages 503-521, December.
    15. Robert Higgs, 1989. "Do legislators' votes reflect constituency preference? A simple way to evaluate the Senate," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 175-181, November.
    16. Gregory M. Randolph & Michael T. Tasto, 2012. "Special Interest Group Formation in the United States: Do Special Interest Groups Mirror the Success of their Spatial Neighbors?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 119-134, July.
    17. Franklin G. Mixon & Rand W. Ressler & M. Troy Gibson, 2003. "Congressional Memberships as Political Advertising: Evidence from the U.S. Senate," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(2), pages 414-424, October.

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