Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T07:49:05.172Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2017

Mark S. Hurwitz ,
Roger J. Moiles  and
David W. Rohde
Mark S. Hurwitz
Affiliation:
University at Buffalo, SUNY
Roger J. Moiles
Affiliation:
Grand Valley State University
David W. Rohde
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Distributive, informational, and partisan rationales provide contrasting accounts of legislative politics. Which of these theories best explains the decisions and policies of the House Agriculture Committee? We contend that all are appropriate, at various times, depending upon the particular issues and circumstances. By analyzing issues within the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee in the 104th House, we demonstrate that the issue environments of both are multidimensional (even within individual bills) and that each committee has both distributive and partisan policy dimensions. Therefore, it is impossible for either committee to be representative of the chamber on all its policy dimensions simultaneously. In addition, with regard to distributive issues salient to members, we find that both committees are homogeneous, high-demand outliers. Our study has important implications for distributive, informational, and partisan theories of legislative behavior and organization.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 95 , Issue 4 , December 2001 , pp. 911 - 922
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, E. Scott. 2000. “Constituency Characteristics and the ‘Guardian’ Model of Appropriation Subcommittees, 1959–1998.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (January): 104-14.Google Scholar
Adler, E. Scott, and Lapinski, John S.. 1997. “Demand-Side Theory and Congressional Committee Composition: A Constituency-Characteristic Approach.” American Journal of Political Science 41 (July): 895–918.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H. 1995. Why Parties? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Nelson, Forrest D.. 1984. Linear Probability, Logit, and Probit Models. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Rohde, David W.. 1996. “A Tale of Two Speakers: A Comparison of Policy Making in the 100th and 104th Congresses.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Rohde, David W.. 1997. “Balance of Power: Republican Party Leadership and the Committee System in the 104th House.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Rohde, David W.. 1997–98. “The Transition to Republican Rule in the House: Implications for Theories of Congressional Politics.” Political Science Quarterly 112 (Winter): 541-67.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Rohde, David W.. 2000a. “The Consequences of Party Organization in the House: The Role of the Majority and Minority Parties in Conditional Party Government.” In Polarized Politics: Congress and the President in a Partisan Era, ed. Bond, Jon R. and Fleisher, Richard. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Pp. 31–72.Google Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Rohde, David W.. 2000b. “The Republican Revolution and the House Appropriations Committee.” Journal of Politics 62 (February): 1–33.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A. 1997. Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., Lawrence, Eric D., and Maltzman, Forrest. 1999. “Uncovering the Hidden Effect of Party.” Journal of Politics 61 (August): 815-31.Google Scholar
Browne, William P. 1995. Cultivating Congress: Constituents, Issues, and Agricultural Policymaking. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.Google Scholar
Cameron, Charles, Epstein, David, and O'Halloran, Sharyn. 1996. “Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress?” American Political Science Review 90 (December): 794–812.Google Scholar
Congressional Districts in the 1990s: A Portrait of America. 1993. Washington: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. 1995. Washington: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1993. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Deering, Christopher J., and Smith, Steven S.. 1997. Committees in Congress, 3d ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. 1973. Congressmen in Committees. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. 1997. Learning to Govern: An Institutional View of the 104th Congress. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Ferejohn, John. 1974. Pork Barrel Politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris. 1987. “Alternative Rationales for Restrictive Procedures.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 3 (Fall): 337-45.Google Scholar
Gilligan, Thomas, and Krehbiel, Keith. 1987. “Collective Decision-Making and Standing Committees: An Informational Rationale for Restrictive Amendment Procedures.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 3 (Fall): 287–335.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L., and Grofman, Bernard. 1990. “The Committee Assignment Process and the Conditional Nature of Committee Bias.” American Political Science Review 84 (December): 1149-66.Google Scholar
Hurwitz, Mark S., Moiles, Roger J., and Rohde, David W.. 1997. “Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House” (version 3.0). Political Institutions and Public Choice Program working paper 97-07, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 2000. “Party Polarization in National Politics: The Electoral Connection.” In Polarized Politics: Congress and the President in a Partisan Era, ed. Bond, Jon R. and Fleisher, Richard. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Pp. 9–30.Google Scholar
Jones, Charles O. 1961. “Representation in Congress: The Case of the House Agriculture Committee.” American Political Science Review 55 (June): 358-67.Google Scholar
Jones, Bryan D., Baumgartner, Frank R., and Talbert, Jeffrey C.. 1993. “The Destruction of Issue Monopolies in Congress.” American Political Science Review 87 (September): 657-71.Google Scholar
Koford, Kenneth. 1989. “Dimensions in Congressional Voting.” American Political Science Review 83 (September): 949-62.Google Scholar
Koford, Kenneth. 1994. “What Can We Learn about Congressional Politics from Dimensional Studies of Roll Call Voting.” Economics and Politics 6 (July): 173-86.Google Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1990. “Are Congressional Committees Composed of Preference Outliers?” American Political Science Review 84 (March): 149-63.Google Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1991. Information and Legislative Organization. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1994. “Deference, Extremism, and Interest Group Ratings.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 19 (February): 61–77.Google Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1998. Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J. 1964. “American Business, Public Policy, Case Studies, and Political Theory.” World Politics 16 (Fall): 677–715.Google Scholar
Maltzman, Forrest. 1997. Competing Principals: Committees, Parties, and the Organization of Congress. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Maltzman, Forrest, and Smith, Steven S.. 1995. “Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees.” In Positive Theories of Congressional Institutions, ed. Shepsle, Kenneth A. and Weingast, Barry R.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Pp. 253-72.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Niskanen, William A. 1971. Bureaucracy and Representative Government. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton.Google Scholar
Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 1997. Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ripley, Randall B., and Franklin, Grace A.. 1991. Congress, the Bureaucracy, and Public Policy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.Google Scholar
Rohde, David W. 1991. Parties and Leaders in the Postreform House. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Rohde, David W. 1995a. “Consensus, Conflict, and the Domain of Partisanship in House Committees.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Rohde, David W. 1995b. “Parties and Committees in the House: Member Motivations, Issues, and Institutional Arrangements.” In Positive Theories of Congressional Institutions, ed. Shepsle, Kenneth A. and Weingast, Barry R.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Pp. 119-37.Google Scholar
Rundquist, Barry, and Ferejohn, John. 1975. “Observations on a Distributive Theory of Policy-Making: Two American Expenditure Programs Compared.” In Comparative Public Policy: Issues, Theories and Methods, ed. Liske, Craig, Loehr, William, and McCamant, John. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 87–108.Google Scholar
Rundquist, Barry, Lee, Jeong-Hwa, and Rhee, Jungho. 1996. “The Distributive Politics of Cold War Defense Spending.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 21 (May): 265-81.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Joseph A. 1975. “The Primary Goals of Political Parties: A Clarification of Positive Theory.” American Political Science Review 69 (September): 840-9.Google Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 1978. The Giant Jigsaw Puzzle. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A., and Weingast, Barry R.. 1987. “The Institutional Foundations of Committee Power.” American Political Science Review 81 (March): 85–104.Google Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A., and Weingast, Barry R.. 1995a. “Positive Theories of Congressional Institutions.” In Positive Theories of Congressional Institutions, ed. Shepsle, Kenneth A. and Weingast, Barry R.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Pp. 5–35.Google Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A., and Weingast, Barry R., ed. 1995b. Positive Theories of Congressional Institutions. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Snyder, James M. Jr. 1992. “Artificial Extremism in Interest Group Ratings.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 17 (August): 319-45.Google Scholar
Stein, Robert M., and Bickers, Kenneth N.. 1994. “Universalism and the Electoral Connection: A Test and Some Doubts.” Political Research Quarterly 47 (June): 295–317.Google Scholar
Weingast, Barry. 1979. “A Rational Choice Perspective on Congressional Norms.” American Journal of Political Science 23 (May): 245-62.Google Scholar
Weingast, Barry. 1994. “Reflections on Distributive Politics and Universalism.” Political Research Quarterly 47 (June): 319-27.Google Scholar
Weingast, Barry, and Marshall, William. 1988. “The Industrial Organization of Congress.” Journal of Political Economy 96 (February): 132-63.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.