Racial Representation, Budgetary Politics, and Congressional Committees

• In Event: Public Policy and Political Institutions

Abstract

The notion that racial minorities govern differently than their white counterparts serves as the foundation for political theories of substantive representation, redistricting cases, and the Voting Rights Act. Despite a rich theoretical scholarship on the deliberative benefits of increased diversity, it remains unclear how policymaking changes as the United States continues to experience a paradigmatic shift in demography. In this study, we examine the role of elite racial identity in the context of budgetary politics. Using a dataset of appropriation line items and federal contracts, we explore whether and how race affects decision-making in the U.S. context. Combining these data with the racial composition of Congressional committees, we test the hypothesis that increased ethnic diversity is associated with profound changes to political agendas and policy outcomes. Our findings provide new evidence about how racial representation occurs in a diversifying polity and reveal new mechanisms by which racial minorities can represent their communities.

Authors

• Jeremiah Cha, Harvard University

• Hunter Rendleman, Harvard University