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Equal Representation? An Assessment of the Responsiveness of Senators to Subconstituency Interests

Abernathy, Claire E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306876029

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Political Science.
While several studies have explored the impact of constituency opinion on representative behavior, few studies have adequately engaged the concept of subconstituency as first posited in Fenno (1978). His elaboration of the district as “a nest of concentric circles” provides a useful construct for thinking about how members can (and often do) sustain different relationships with different constituency subgroups. Relying on one of the few data resources available with sufficient sample sizes from each state to explore these ideas – the Senate Election Study – this study divides the district population into groups based on level of partisanship and income and investigates the influence of constituent opinion from these subgroups on Senator ideology. Though it is a closer representation of the concentric circles analogy presented by Fenno, the results of the partisanship model indicates that a Senator’s co-partisans are not any more represented than at-large district residents. The income model suggests that Senators better reflect the opinions of middle- and high-income constituents, while low-income opinion is largely ignored by Senators of both parties. Assessment of opinion differences across these different subgroups indicates that disparities in representation found for some citizens may be attenuated by a common opinion shared with groups that are more represented.
Craig Volden (Committee Chair)
Kathleen McGraw (Committee Member)
51 p.
Political Science
Representation; Subconstituency; Income; Partisanship

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Abernathy, C. E. (2011). Equal Representation? An Assessment of the Responsiveness of Senators to Subconstituency Interests [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306876029

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Abernathy, Claire. Equal Representation? An Assessment of the Responsiveness of Senators to Subconstituency Interests. 2011. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306876029.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Abernathy, Claire. "Equal Representation? An Assessment of the Responsiveness of Senators to Subconstituency Interests." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306876029

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1306876029
429
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.