Legislative Entrepreneurship in the U.S. House of Representatives (Michigan Studies in Political Analysis) (Hardcover)

~ Gregory Wawro (Author)

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Product Description

When members are elected to the House of Representatives they have a certain freedom to decide how they will act as members and how they will build their reputations. Just as in the market place entrepreneurs build businesses, so in the House of Representatives members have the freedom to choose to build legislative programs that will enhance their reputations in the institution. And yet entrepreneurship is also costly to members. Gregory Wawro explains why members of the House engage in legislative entrepreneurship by examining what motivates them to acquire policy knowledge, draft legislation, build coalitions, and push their legislation in the House. He considers what incentives members have to perform what many have perceived to be the difficult and unrewarding tasks of legislating.
This book shows how becoming a legislative entrepreneur relates to members' goals of reelection, enacting good public policy, and obtaining influence in the House. The analysis differs from previous studies of this behavior, which for the most part have employed case study methods and have relied on anecdotal evidence to support their arguments. Wawro analyzes legislative entrepreneurship in a general and systematic fashion, developing hypotheses from rational-choice-based theories and testing these hypotheses using quantitative methods.
Wawro argues that members engage in legislative entrepreneurship in order to get ahead within the House. He finds that the more legislative entrepreneurship that members engage in, the more likely it is that they will advance to prestigious positions.
This book is of interest to students of Congress, legislative behavior and institutions, elections, and campaign finance.
Gregory Wawro is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Columbia University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press (April 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0472111531
• ISBN-13: 978-0472111534
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for understanding American politics, June 14, 2000

By	Sarah Hamm-Alvarez (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Wawro's book studies a critical, and often overlooked, part of the legislative process: why do members draft and push bills through the legislature? While this might sound like a question with an obvious answer, Wawro points out that legislative entrepreneurship is costly and risky behavior. So why do legislators bear the costs and risks to draft and press bills?

Wawro uses a combination of theoretical and empirical studies to test for four important possible factors which might lead legislators to become policy entrepreneurs: to gain support from their constitutents, to help campaign fundraising, to facilitate their position in the legislature, and partisan explanations. While I won't ruin the punchline for interested readers, I will promise that you'll be surprised at the answers which Wawro produces.

If you want to understand contemporary American politics, you'll want to read Wawro's excellent book.