Examining The Effect of Subconstituencies on Legislative Outcomes
Open Access
Author:
Stem, Anthony Walton
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Marie Hojnacki, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
subconstituency Congress agriculture
Abstract:
This analysis examines the influence of agricultural subconstituencies on agricultural roll call votes from the 113th and 114th Congresses. By running models with data on each district’s agricultural subconstituency size, district partisanship, lawmaker ideology, and whether the representative is running for reelection, I found a significant relationship between the size of the agricultural subconstituency and votes on H.R 2642 (the 2014 US Farm Bill). However, subconstituency size did not have a significant effect on votes for any other bill. Most bills were significantly affected by district partisanship and lawmaker ideology, which is not surprising given the polarized nature of recent Congresses. My research helps to mend a gap in the literature on subconstituencies by utilizing a direct population measure (the percentage of employees in a congressional district) rather than an indirect measure (such as the number of cows per district) to approximate the size of the agricultural subconstituency.
