Multidimensional Democracy
A Supply and Demand Theory of Representation in American Legislatures

This book examines four unique dimensions of American political representation from the supply (legislator) and demand (constituent) perspectives.

Jeffrey J. Harden (Author)

9781107130968, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 November 2015

202 pages, 71 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.47 kg

Multidimensional Democracy examines political representation from the supply (legislator) and demand (constituent) perspectives. Focusing on four dimensions - policy, service, allocation, and descriptive representation - it documents systematic variation in what people want from legislators and what legislators choose to emphasize while in office. It has important implications for the study of representation, as well as normative questions about political inequality in America. The demand-side results show that constituents who are economically advantaged tend to prefer policy-based representation while the disadvantaged place relatively more importance in constituent service and/or allocation. Suggestive results from the legislator data complement this finding; legislators in wealthy, white districts tend to focus more on policy while those representing economically disadvantaged and racially diverse districts may place more emphasis on service and/or allocation. A likely consequence is that the policy choices made by representatives reflect the policy preferences of the economically advantaged because policy representation is what those citizens want.

Acknowledgments
1. Responsiveness beyond roll calls
2. A supply and demand theory of representation
3. Citizen demand for the dimensions of representation
4. The determinants of legislators' representational priorities
5. Legislative websites and the dimensions of representation
6. Unifying the dimensions of representation
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C.

Subject Areas: Legislation [LNZL], Parliamentary & legislative practice [LNDP], Political science & theory [JPA], Politics & government [JP]