A vast literature debates the efficacy of descriptive representation in legislatures. Though studies argue it influences how communities are represented through constituency service, they are limited since legislators’ service activities are unobserved. Using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we collect 88,000 records of communication between members of the U.S. Congress and federal agencies during the 108 th − 113 th Congress. These legislative interventions allow us to examine members’ “follow through” with policy implementation. We find that women, racial/ethnic minorities, and veterans are more likely to work on behalf of constituents with whom they share identities. Including veterans offers leverage in understanding the role of political cleavages and shared experiences. Our findings suggest that shared experiences operate as a critical mechanism for representation, that a lack of political consensus is not necessary for substantive representation, and that the causal relationships identified by experimental work have observable implications in the daily work of Congress.
Descriptive and Substantive Representation in Congress: Evidence from 80,000 Congressional Inquiries
Kenneth Lowande,Melinda N. Ritchie,Erinn Lauterbach
Published 2019 in American Journal of Political Science
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- Publication year
2019
- Venue
American Journal of Political Science
- Publication date
2019-06-17
- Fields of study
Political Science
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