Original
When Do Legislators Represent Their Constituents? Evidence from Roll-Call and Referendum Votes
Abstract
This article develops a measure of representation that uses referendum returns to capture constituent opinion and applies it to 4,192 roll-call votes on 33 laws in 10 states. Roll-call votes were congruent with majority/median opinion in a district 66% of the time. Roll-call votes can be explained primarily by legislator ideology, with constituent opinion of secondary importance. The data do not show a reliable connection between congruence and competitive elections, term limits, media attention, and party pressure. The evidence generally supports the predictions of representation theories that emphasize selection of legislators that share constituent ideology and provides little support for theories that emphasize reelection incentives.
中文
立法者何时代表其选民？来自点名表决与公投投票的证据
摘要
本文提出一种代表度测量方法，利用公投结果来捕捉选民意见，并将其应用于10个州33项法律中的4,192次点名表决。点名表决在66%的情况下与选区多数/中位意见一致。点名表决主要可由立法者意识形态解释，选民意见的重要性次之。数据未显示一致性与竞争性选举、任期限制、媒体关注和政党压力之间存在可靠联系。证据总体支持那些强调选任与选民意识形态相符的立法者的代表理论的预测，而几乎不支持强调连任激励的理论。
关键词
代表、点名表决、公投、选民意见、立法者意识形态、竞争性选举、任期限制、政党压力