Does Less Income Mean Less Representation?

Eric Brunner (), Stephen Ross and Ebonya Washington

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2013, vol. 5, issue 2, 53-76

Abstract: We assemble a novel dataset of matched legislative and constituent votes and demonstrate that less income does not mean less representation. We show: (i) The opinions of high- and low-income voters are highly correlated; the legislator's vote often reflects the desire of both. (ii) What differences in representation by income exist vary by legislator party. Republicans more often vote the will of their higher income over their lower income constituents; Democratic legislators do the reverse. (iii) Differences in representation by income are largely explained by the correlation between constituent income and party affiliation. (JEL D31, D72)

JEL-codes: D31 D72 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.5.2.53
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (29)

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Working Paper: Does Less Income Mean Less Representation? (2011)
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