Why do electors trust their representatives?

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Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction     1

Part 1. A Theory of Trust

Chapter 2. Trust, Democratic Theory, and the Electoral Connection     11

Chapter 3. Assumptions about Decisions and Beliefs     39

Chapter 4. The Leeway Hypothesis     63

Part 2: The Theory Applied

Introduction to Part 2     95

Chapter 5. Raising Pay without Losing Office: The Ethics Act of 1989     99

Chapter 6. Analyzing the Inexplicable: The Repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act     123

Chapter 7. Conclusions     147

Appendixes

Appendix 1. The Evaluation Game     171
Appendix 2. The Data     185
Appendix 3. Fiduciary Behavior under Term Limits     198

References     201
Author Index     209
Subject Index     213

 

Description

Why do constituents sometimes defer to their representative's judgment, rewarding her for acting as she thinks best, even when she ignores their demands? By making decisions about trust, constituents determine whether their representative is rewarded for implementing their demands or for using her judgment. These decisions shape legislator behavior and, through behavior, policy outcomes. Therefore, any attempt to explain or evaluate representative institutions such as the modern Congress requires an answer to a simple question: When do constituents trust their representative, and what is the basis of that trust?

This book is the first systematic analysis of constituent trust. It assumes that elected officials and ordinary citizens are rational actors. However, the book moves beyond the standard rational choice framework in three ways. It avoids narrow, unrealistic assumptions about motivations and information. It shows that many kinds of behavior not usually thought of as rational choices, such as a voter's desire to be represented by "someone like them," are the product of a systematic, predictable calculus---a calculus aimed at securing favorable policy outcomes. Finally, the book uses interviews with ninety-three members of the U.S. House of Representatives to test its predictions about trust.