Date of Award
8-2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Economics
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dougan, William
Committee Member
Warren , Patrick L
Committee Member
Tolison , Robert D
Abstract
This dissertation explores two types of legislation, campaign finance reform and climate
change legislation, in order to examine the determinants of congressional voting on these acts. Chapter One outlines a theoretical model based on a model by Denzau and Munger (1989) that predicts that Representatives will vote for campaign finance reform if it improves their campaign contribution position relative to that of their opponents, rather than improves their position absolutely. Empirical estimates show that this is in fact the case and that voting on the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was based on this rather than on party as others had claimed. Chapter Two examines the determinants of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007. This analysis finds that Senatorial voting for this act was based not on the potential health threats to the Senators states but rather on the cost of the act and the political affiliation of the Senator and his or her constituents. Chapter Three looks at seven economic analyses of Lieberman-Warner Act in more depth. This analysis finds that the economic impacts predicted by these analyses are sensitive to the assumptions made by the researchers. It also finds that many of these studies find that the cost of the Lieberman-Warner Act will be approximately $1,000 per
year per household.
Recommended Citation
Buckley, Bryan, "Congressional Support for Campaign Finance Reform and Climate Legislation" (2009). All Dissertations. 438.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/438