Does Less Income Mean Less Representation?

Eric Brunner (), Stephen Ross and Ebonya L. Washington

No 16835, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We assemble a novel dataset of matched legislative and constituent votes and demonstrate that less income does not mean less representation. We show 1) The opinions of high and low income voters are highly correlated; the legislator's vote often reflects the desire of both. 2) 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. 3) Differences in representation by income are largely explained by the correlation between constituent income and party affiliation.

JEL-codes: D72 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-02
Note: POL
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as Eric Brunner & Stephen L. Ross & Ebonya Washington, 2013. "Does Less Income Mean Less Representation?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 53-76, May.

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