Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T18:48:22.612Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Professional Backgrounds in State Legislatures, 1993‐2012

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Todd Makse
Todd Makse*
Affiliation:
Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
*
Todd Makse, Florida International University, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, SIPA Building, Room 405, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this paper, I introduce a new dataset of individual-level professional background data for state legislators in 98 chambers from 1993 to 2012. Using this data, I examine trends in the professional backgrounds of state legislators over the period of the study, with attention to institutional factors such as professionalism and legislative turnover and individual-level factors such as political party and gender. In addition, I briefly illustrate three applications of the data. First, I analyze the extent to which district-level demographic and political factors affect the probability that a district will elect a legislator from certain backgrounds. Second, I examine the relationship between occupational background and ideology, identifying the backgrounds that identify moderate and extreme members in each party. Third, I contrast the occupational backgrounds of legislators who hold leadership positions with the membership at large. Taken together, these examples speak to some of the ways in which the composition of state legislatures can reveal interesting and relevant information underlying legislative behavior and institutions.

Keywords

legislative politicsstate politicsprofessional backgroundideologylegislative leadership
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 312 - 333
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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

Barone, Michael, Lilley, William III, and DeFranco, Laurence J.. 1998. State Legislative Elections: Voting Patterns and Demographics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Battista, James Coleman. 2012. “State Legislative Committees and Economic Connections: Expertise and Industry Service.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 12:284–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., Haynie, Kerry L., and Reingold, Beth. 2008. “Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Representation.” In Book of the States 2008. Lexington: Council of State Governments, pp. 73–79.Google Scholar
Bullock, Charles III, Hoffman, Donna R., and Gaddie, Ronald Keith. 2006. “Regional Variations in the Realignment of American Politics, 1944–2004.” Social Science Quarterly 87:494–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, Barry C. 2007. The Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, Charles, Epstein, David, and O'Halloran, Sharon. 1996. “Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress?” American Political Science Review 90(4): 794–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2012. “Does the Numerical Underrepresentation of the Working Class in Congress Matter?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 37:5–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2013. White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2016. “Why Are There So Few Working-Class People in Political Office? Evidence from State Legislatures.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 4:84–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas, and Lupu, Noam. 2015. “What Good Is a College Degree? Education and Leader Quality Reconsidered.” Journal of Politics 78:35–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, Joseph. 1970. Origins of the Standing Committees and the Development of Modern House. Houston: Rice University Press.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary, and McCubbins, Mathew. 1993. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. Jr. 1978. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman and Company.Google Scholar
Fox, Richard, and Lawless, Jennifer. 2005. “To Run or Not to Run for Office: Explaining Nascent Political Ambition.” American Journal of Political Science 49:642–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francis, Katherine, and Bramlett, Brittany. 2017. “Precongressional Careers and Committees: The Impact of Congruence.” American Politics Research 45(5): 755–789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamm, Keith E., Hedlund, Ronald D., and Post, Stephanie Shirley. 2011. “Do Legislatures Tap the Talents of Their Members? Committee Specialization in U.S. State Legislatures during the 20th Century.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 11:299–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, Eric R., Carnes, Nicholas, and Gray, Virginia. 2019. “What Happens When Insurers Make Insurance Laws? State Legislative Agendas and the Occupational Makeup of Government.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly DOI: 10.1177/1532440018813013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heberlig, Eric, Hetherington, Marc, and Larson, Bruce. 2006. “The Price of Leadership: Campaign Money and the Polarization of Congressional Parties.” Journal of Politics 68:992–1005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hood, M. V. III, Kidd, Quentin, and Morris, Irwin L.. 2004. “The Reintroduction of the Elephas Maximus to the Southern United States: The Rise of Republican State Parties, 1960 to 2000.” American Politics Research 32(1): 68–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hout, Michael. 1984. “Status, Autonomy, and Training in Occupational Mobility.” American Journal of Sociology 89(6): 1379–1409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hout, Michael, Brooks, Clem, and Manza, Jeff. 1995. “The Democratic Class Struggle in the United States.” American Sociological Review 60(6): 805–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krasno, Jonathan S., and Green, Donald P.. 1988. “Preempting Quality Challengers in House Elections.” Journal of Politics 50:920–936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurtz, Karl. 2015. “Who We Elect: The Demographics of State Legislatures.” State Legislatures Magazine, December.Google Scholar
Lawless, Jennifer L., and Fox, Richard L.. 2005. It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lublin, David, and Voss, D. Stephen. 2000. “Racial Redistricting and Realignment in Southern State Legislatures.” Journal of Politics 44(4): 792–810.Google Scholar
Maddox, H. W. Jerome. 2004. “Working outside of the State House (and Senate): Outside Careers as an Indicator of Professionalism in American State Legislatures.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 4:211–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris, and McCarty, Nolan. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 105(2): 530–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 1988. “Career Opportunities and Membership Stability in Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 13(1): 65–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 1992. “Legislative Professionalization and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 17(1): 69–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 7(2): 211–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill, and Moncrief, Gary. 2015. State Legislatures Today: Politics under the Domes. Boston: Longman.Google Scholar
Tate, Katherine. 2003. “Black Opinion on the Legitimacy of Racial Redistricting and Majority-Minority Districts.” American Political Science Review 93(1): 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Gerald. 2004. “Representation in America's Legislatures.” Indiana University, Bloomington, IN and National Science Foundation Grant, Arlington, VA.Google Scholar