Doctoral Dissertation Research: Changing the Rules of the Game: Distributive, Informational and Partisan Approaches toCongressional Reform

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9409451 Shapiro Neoinstitutional approaches to the study of legislatures have developed a range of formal models that explain the purpose of congressional rules and procedures. However, this formal work has rarely been integrated with the empirical research on congressional reform. This dissertation research project will extend existing distributive, informational and partisan models of legislative structure into explanations of congressional transformations, especially the structure and composition of committees and their jurisdictions. Since the models provide divergent explanations for the endurance of institutions, propositions derived from these new theories should predict different empirical outcomes with respect to the restructuring of the congressional committee system. The student will examine the explanatory power of these theories, using empirical evidence on congressional reform in the House of Representatives in order to compare the effectiveness of each in explaining alterations in the committee system and jurisdictional boundaries since the Cannon Revolt of 1910. Findings from the examination of these models will give indications as to when and why different types of jurisdictional reform and committee restructuring have occurred. The results will also offer insights into which approach to legislative structure most accurately captures the motivations and behavior of members within the constantly evolving institution of congress.