The U.S. House of Representatives has been frozen at 435 members for almost a century, and in that time the nation's population has grown by more than 200 percent. With the number of citizens represented by each House member now dramatically larger, is a major consequence of this historical disparity a diminished quality of representation?
Brian Frederick uses empirical data to scrutinize whether representation has been undermined by keeping a ceiling on the number of seats available in the House. He examines the influence of constituency size on several metrics of representation-including estimating the effects on electoral competition, policy responsiveness, and citizen contact with and approval of their representatives-and argues that now is the time for the House to be increased in order to better represent a rapidly growing country.
- ISBN10 6612443510
- ISBN13 9786612443510
- Publish Date 4 December 2009 (first published 25 November 2009)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 28 August 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Taylor & Francis Group
- Format eBook
- Pages 182
- Language English