Description
Book SynopsisConstituents often fail to hold their representatives accountable for federal spending decisions--even though those very choices have a pervasive influence on American life. Why does this happen? Breaking new ground in the study of representation, The Impression of Influence demonstrates how legislators skillfully inform constituents with strategic
Trade Review"[R]igorous and illuminating."--Choice "This book is sophisticated in its approaches, theoretically rigorous, and well written... The result is a deeply engaging and highly informative work."--Wendy J. Schiller, Congress & The Presidency "A noteworthy essay that grapples with the broad question of democratic accountability... There is much to like about The Impression of Influence."--Scot Schraufnagel, Political Science Quarterly
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix List of Tables xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 Representation, Spending, and the Personal Vote 1 2 Solving the Representative's Problem and Creating the Representative's Opportunity 15 3 How Legislators Create an Impression of Influence 32 4 Creating an Impression, Not Just Increasing Name Recognition 64 5 Cultivating an Impression of Influence with Actions and Small Expenditures 81 6 Credit, Deception, and Institutional Design 121 7 Criticism and Credit: How Deficit Implications Undermine Credit Allocation 148 8 Representation and the Impression of Influence 174 9 Text as Data: Methods Appendix 186 Bibliography 189 Index 203
