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Does the Decision to Retire Increase the Amount of Political Shirking?

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  • James R. Vanbeek

    (Blinn College)

Abstract

This article tests the hypothesis that removing the reelection constraint on congres-sional representatives will alter their voting behavior. This article uses 1977 and 1978 congressional voting records to determine residuals that are taken as a proxy for shirking. The contribution of this article is to test the hypothesis by implementing timing variables to indicate when the decision to retire occurs. Despite many different tests of the hypothesis, there is no evidence that removing the reelection constraint actually causes a change in representatives' voting behavior when they do vote.

Suggested Citation

  • James R. Vanbeek, 1991. "Does the Decision to Retire Increase the Amount of Political Shirking?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 19(4), pages 444-456, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:19:y:1991:i:4:p:444-456
    DOI: 10.1177/109114219101900405
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kalt, Joseph P & Zupan, Mark A, 1990. "The Apparent Ideological Behavior of Legislators: Testing for Principal-Agent Slack in Political Institutions," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 103-131, April.
    2. Zupan, Mark A, 1990. "The Last Period Problem in Politics: Do Congressional Representatives Not Subject to a Reelection Constraint Alter Their Voting Behavior?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 65(2), pages 167-180, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Alston, Lee J. & Jenkins, Jeffery A. & Nonnenmacher, Tomas, 2006. "Who Should Govern Congress? Access to Power and the Salary Grab of 1873," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 674-706, September.
    3. Garrett, Thomas A, 1999. "A Test of Shirking under Legislative and Citizen Vote: The Case of State Lottery Adoption," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 189-208, April.

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