Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-wjqwx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-14T01:53:08.632Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

What Happens When Insurers Make Insurance Laws? State Legislative Agendas and the Occupational Makeup of Government

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Eric R. Hansen Open the ORCID record for Eric R. Hansen [Opens in a new window] ,
Nicholas Carnes  and
Virginia Gray
Eric R. Hansen*
Affiliation:
Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Nicholas Carnes
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Virginia Gray
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
*
Eric R. Hansen, Department of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Do the occupational backgrounds of politicians affect the government's agenda? Businesses have long thought so. The first occupational data on state legislators were collected by the Insurance Information Institute, an interest group representing major insurance companies. In this paper, we test one potential motive for these kinds of efforts: the idea that the occupational makeup of governments affects the agendas they pursue, an argument that has been largely neglected in research on politicians' occupational backgrounds. We focus here on the insurance industry. Using original data, we find that state legislatures with more former insurers consider fewer bills regulating insurance (negative agenda control), that former insurers play a disproportionate role in drafting the insurance bills that are introduced (positive agenda control), and that the bills former insurers introduce tend to be more favorable to the industry than those that their colleagues introduce (positive agenda control). The occupational makeup of legislatures may indeed affect their agendas, as industry groups have long suspected.

Keywords

descriptive representationinsurancesocial classoccupationagendasstate politics
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 155 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bachrach, Peter, and Baratz, Morton S.. 1962. “Two Faces of Power.” American Political Science Review 56 (4): 947–952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battista, James Coleman. 2012. “State Legislative Committees and Economic Connections: Expertise and Industry Service.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 12 (3): 284–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battista, James C. 2013. “Financial Interests and Economic Diversity in State Legislatures.” Social Science Quarterly 94 (1): 175–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank, Berry, Jeffrey M., Hojnacki, Marie, Kimball, David C., and Leech, Beth L.. 2009. Lobbying and Policy Change: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellemare, Marc F., and Carnes, Nicholas. 2015. “Why Do Members of Congress Support Agricultural Protection?” Food Policy 50 (1): 20–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkman, Michael B., and O'Connor, Robert E.. 1993. “Do Women Legislators Matter? Female Legislators and State Abortion Policy.” American Politics Quarterly 21 (1): 102–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berry, William D., Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L.. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (1): 327–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonica, Adam. 2017. “Why Are There So Many Lawyers in Congress?” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 6–9.Google Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., and Haynie, Kerry L.. 1999. “Agenda Setting and Legislative Success in State Legislatures: The Effects of Gender and Race.” Journal of Politics 61 (3): 658–679.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broockman, David E. 2013. “Black Politicians Are More Intrinsically Motivated to Advance Blacks' Interests: A Field Experiment Manipulating Political Incentives.” American Journal of Political Science 57 (3): 521–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchanan, William. 1962. “Subject Matter Experts.” In The Legislative System: Explorations in Legislative Behavior, eds. Wahlke, John C., Eulau, Heinz, Buchanan, William, and Ferguson, Leroy C., 193–215. New York: Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Burden, Barry C. 2007. The Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burstein, Paul. 2014. American Public Opinion, Advocacy, and Policy in Congress: What the Public Wants and What It Gets. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Campbell, Rosie, and Cowley, Philip. 2014. “Rich Man, Poor Man, Politician Man: Wealth Effects in a Candidate Biography Survey Experiment.” British Journal of Politics and International Relations 16 (1): 56–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canon, David T. 1999. Race, Redistricting and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2012. “Does the Numerical Underrepresentation of the Working Class in Congress Matter?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 37 (1): 5–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2013. White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2016. “Who Votes for Inequality?” In Congress and Policy Making in the 21St Century, eds. Jenkins, Jeffrey A., and Patashnik, Eric M., 106–134. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas, and Hansen, Eric R.. 2016. “Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?” American Political Science Review 110 (4): 699–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas, and Lupu, Noam. 2015. “Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation: Evidence from Latin America.” American Journal of Political Science 59 (1): 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, Daniel. 2014. “Detecting and Measuring Capture.” In Preventing Regulatory Capture: Special Interest Influence and How to Limit It, eds. Carpenter, Daniel and Moss, David A., 57–68. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Deaux, Kay, Reid, Anne, Mizrahi, Kim, and Ethier, Kathleen A.. 1995. “Parameters of Social Identity.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 (2): 280–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Domhoff, G. William. 1967. Who Rules America?. New York: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Eulau, Heinz, and Sprague, John D.. 1964. Lawyers in Politics: A Study in Professional Convergence. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. 1973. Congressmen in Committees. New York: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia, Lowery, David, Fellowes, Matthew, and Anderson, Jennifer. 2005. “Legislative Agendas and Interest Advocacy: Understanding the Demand Side of Lobbying.” American Politics Research 33 (3): 404–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, John D., and Anewalt-Remsburg, Claudia. 2013. “Legislator Wealth and the Effort to Repeal the Estate Tax.” American Politics Research 41 (4): 599–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, John D., and Newman, Brian. 2008. Minority Report: Evaluating Political Equality in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grose, Christian R. 2011. Congress in Black and White: Race and Representation in Washington and at Home. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Richard L. 1996. Participation in Congress. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hamm, Keith E., Hedlund, Ronald D., and Post, Stephanie Shirley. 2011. “Committee Specialization in U.S. State Legislatures during the 20th Century: Do Legislatures Tap the Talents of Their Members?” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 11 (3): 299–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, Eric R., and Treul, Sarah A.. 2015. “The Symbolic and Substantive Representation of LGB Americans in the U.S. House.” Journal of Politics 77 (4): 955–967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkle, Steve, and Brown, Rupert J.. 1990. “Intergroup Comparisons and Social Identity: Some Links and Lacunae.” In Social Identity Theory: Constructive and Critical Advances, eds. Abrams, Dominic, and Hogg, Michael A., 48–70. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Jansa, Joshua M., and Gray, Virginia. 2017. “Captured Development: Industry Influence and State Economic Development Subsidies in the Great Recession Era.” Economic Development Quarterly 31 (1): 50–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John W. [1984] 2011. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Koger, Gregory. 2003. “Position Taking and Cosponsorship in the U.S. House.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 28 (2): 225–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kollman, Ken. 1998. Outside Lobbying: Public Opinion and Interest Group Strategies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Kraus, Michael W., and Callaghan, Bennett. 2014. “Noblesse Oblige? Social Status and Economic Inequality Maintenance among Politicians.” PLoS ONE 9 (1): e85293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krehbiel, Keith. 1991. Information and Legislative Organization. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwak, James. 2014. “Cultural Capture and the Financial Crisis.” In Preventing Regulatory Capture: Special Interest Influence and How to Limit It, eds. Carpenter, Daniel, and Moss, David A., 71–98. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Little, Thomas H., Dunn, Dana, and Deen, Rebecca E.. 2001. “A View from the Top: Gender Differences in Legislative Priorities among State Legislative Leaders.” Women and Politics 22 (4): 29–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowery, David, Gray, Virginia, Cluverius, John, and Harden, Jeffrey J.. 2012. “Explaining the Anomalous Growth of Public Sector Lobbying in the American States, 1997–2007.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 43 (4): 580–599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddox, H. W. Jerome. 2004. “Opportunity Costs and Outside Careers in U.S. State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (4): 517–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, Donald R. 1964. The Social Backgrounds of Political Decision-makers. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David R. 2000. America's Congress: Actions in the Public Sphere. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Millard, Sean. 2015. “The US Insurance Industry.” Market Realist. (accessed March 30, 2017).Google Scholar
Miller, Mark C. 1995. The High Priests of American Politics: The Role of Lawyers in American Political Institutions. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.Google Scholar
Minta, Michael D. 2011. Oversight: Representing the Interests of Blacks and Latinos in Congress. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Pitkin, Hannah Fenichel. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 1976. The Comparative Study of Political Elites. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Renzulli, Dianne, and Center for Public Integrity. 2002. Capitol Offenders: How Private Interests Govern Our States. Washington, DC: Public Integrity Books.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1960. The Semisovereign People. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Schiller, Wendy J. 1995. “Senators as Political Entrepreneurs: Using Bill Sponsorship to Shape Legislative Agendas.” American Journal of Political Science: 39:186–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sojourner, Aaron. 2013. “Do Unions Promote Electoral Office-Holding? Evidence from Correlates of State Legislatures' Occupational Shares.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 66 (2): 467–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele. 2002. The Difference Women Make. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, and Turner, John C.. 1986. “The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior.” In Psychology of Intergroup Relations, eds. Worchel, Steven, and Austin, William G., 7–24. Chicago: Nelson Hall.Google Scholar
Thomas, Sue. 1991. “The Impact of Women on State Legislative Policies.” Journal of Politics 53:958–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tibshirani, Robert. 1996. “Regression Shrinkage and Selection via the Lasso.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B (Methodological) 58 (1): 267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wawro, Gregory J. 2000. Legislative Entrepreneurship in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weingast, Barry R., and Marshall, William J.. 1988. “The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets.” Journal of Political Economy 96:132–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitby, Kenny J. 1997. The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witko, Christopher, and Friedman, Sally. 2008. “Business Backgrounds and Congressional Behavior.” Congress & the Presidency 35:71–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Hansen et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Hansen et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 233 KB