Work

A Political Economy Model of Congressional Careers

Year: 2005

Type: article

Abstract: Our main goal is to quantify the returns to a career in the United States Congress. We specify a dynamic model of career decisions of a member of Congress andestimate this model using a newly collected dataset. Given estimates of the structural model, we assess reelection probabilities, estimate the effect of congressional experience on private and public sector wages, and quantify the value of a congressional seat. Moreover, we assess how an increase in the congressional wage or the imposition of term limits would affect the career decisions of politicians and the returns from a career in Congress.

Source: American Economic Review

DOI: 10.1257/0002828053828464

Authors: Daniel Diermeier, Michael Keane, Antonio Merlo

Institutions: Northwestern University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Electoral Systems and Political Participation

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Science Foundation