TY - JOUR
T1 - Legislative oversight and the substantive representation of black and Latino interests in congress
AU - Minta, Michael D.
PY - 2009/5
Y1 - 2009/5
N2 - When determining whether or not legislators are representing their constituents' interests, scholars using voting studies may overstate the role of strategic factors, such as reelection goals and constituent influence, while understating the effect of descriptive characteristics. I argue that race and ethnicity matter in congressional oversight of bureaucratic policymaking. My examination of hearing transcripts from the 107th Congress indicates that minority legislators are more likely than white legislators to participate in racial-oversight hearings but not more likely than whites to participate in social welfare hearings. The results show that descriptive representation contributes to substantive representation, even if the costs of participating outweigh the electoral benefits.
AB - When determining whether or not legislators are representing their constituents' interests, scholars using voting studies may overstate the role of strategic factors, such as reelection goals and constituent influence, while understating the effect of descriptive characteristics. I argue that race and ethnicity matter in congressional oversight of bureaucratic policymaking. My examination of hearing transcripts from the 107th Congress indicates that minority legislators are more likely than white legislators to participate in racial-oversight hearings but not more likely than whites to participate in social welfare hearings. The results show that descriptive representation contributes to substantive representation, even if the costs of participating outweigh the electoral benefits.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650336806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67650336806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3162/036298009788314336
DO - 10.3162/036298009788314336
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:67650336806
SN - 0362-9805
VL - 34
SP - 193
EP - 218
JO - Legislative Studies Quarterly
JF - Legislative Studies Quarterly
IS - 2
ER -