Theoretical and Empirical Analyses of the Impacts of Political Reform : Elections, Political Funds, and Legislative Process

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1. In order to analyze the increase in member bills in recent years, I created a computer-readable data file that contains partisan affiliation of submitters, date of submission, a committee submitted, dates of vote in a committee and on the floor, results of vote, date of enactment, and so on, for all member bills during the period 1947-1998.2. I conducted quantitative research into the decline in member bills after the 1950s and scrutinized the revision process of the Diet Law in 1955 that made bill submission more difficult. In contrast with the accepted theory that asserts the revision was the main cause of the decline in member bills, I found that informal rules created within major parties to restrict submission were more effective in bringing about the decline.3. Utilizing the data collected by political fund investigation project in which I participated, I conducted the first comprehensive analysis of the impact of political money on electoral results.4. I collected official reports on revenues and expenses of political fundraising organizations and parties issued by the government and 47 prefectures. I also collected the electoral results of the 2000 general election and official reports on campaign expenditure of candidates issued by 47 prefectures.5. I combined these data to create a computer-readable data file of candidates in 300 single-member districts. Utilizing this data file, I will analyze the impact of political reform on the behavior of parties, candidates, and voters, i.e., partisan cooperation, money in elections, and strategic voting.