Lawmaker Age, Issue Salience, and Senior Representation in Congress

被引:22
|
作者
Curry, James M. [1 ]
Haydon, Matthew R. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Utah, Polit Sci, Salt Lake City, UT USA
[2] Univ Utah, Dept Polit Sci, 332 South 1400 East,Room 223, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
Congress; seniors; representation; descriptive representation; age; DESCRIPTIVE REPRESENTATION; BILL SPONSORSHIP; SOCIAL-SECURITY; LEGISLATORS; POLITICS; BEHAVIOR; GENDER; BLACK; CONSCIOUSNESS; INTERESTS;
D O I
10.1177/1532673X18754557
中图分类号
D0 [政治学、政治理论];
学科分类号
0302 ; 030201 ;
摘要
Political scientists have demonstrated the importance of lawmakers' identities, showing that race, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation affect legislative and representational behavior. Is the same true for age? We argue it is, but the effect is conditioned by the salience of different senior issues. Analyzing the bill introductions by members of Congress during the 109th and 110th Congresses, we show that older lawmakers are more likely to introduce legislation addressing lower salience senior issues than their younger colleagues. In contrast, sizeable senior constituencies in a district influence lawmaker attention to higher salience senior issues, regardless of a lawmaker's age. These findings have implications for our understanding of senior power and personal roots of representation in the United States.
引用
收藏
页码:567 / 595
页数:29
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