Gerrymandering Roll-Calls: Votes, Decisions, and Partisan bias in Congress, 1879-2000

Gary. Cox and Jonathan Katz ()

No 1158, Working Papers from California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences

Abstract: We argue that the standard toolbox used in electoral studies to assess the bias and responsiveness of electoral systems can also be used to access the bias and responsiveness of legislative systems. We consider which items in the toolbox are the most appropriate for use in the legislative setting, then apply them to estimate levels of bias in the U.S. House from 1879 to 2000. Our results indicate a systematic bias in favor of the majority party over this period, with the strongest bias arising during the period of "Czar rule" (51st-60th Congresses, 1889-1910) and during the post-packing era (87th-106th Congresses, 1961-2000). This finding is consistent with the majority party possessing a significant advantage in setting the agenda.

Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2003-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-his and nep-pol
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