Congress: Structure and Policy

Book Overview

First published in 1987, Congress: Structure and Policy is a review of congressional research from an institutional perspective. The selections blend theoretical material found in the fields of discussion theory, political economy, social choice and game theory, with classics on such standard topics as elections and campaigning, controlling the bureaucracy and oversight, norms of behaviour, committees and committee assignments reform, budgeting, presidential influence, and the party and its leadership. Together, these readings present an institutional theory of Congress. They are integrated in order to address both the short-run issue of how congressional institutions shape policy and the long-run question of why congressional organization has evolved the way it has. In their introductions to the chapters, the editors, Professors McCubbins and Sullivan, not only address the themes of the individual readings but place the chapters in the larger context of the political economy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052133750X
• ISBN13: 9780521337502
• Release Date: August 1987
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Congress: Structure and Policy

Congress: Structure and Policy is a unique review of congressional research from an institutional perspective. The selections blend theoretical material fould in the fields of decision theory, political economy, social choice and game theory, with classics on such standard topics as elections behavior, committees and committee assignments, reform, budgeting, presidential influence, and the party and its leadership. It is a collection that presents work by nearly every major scholar in the area. The readings, both the classic and new contributions, are divided into four thematic parts. PartI examines how electoral institutions affect and are affected by the behavior of members. PartII is concerned with how Congress organizes itself to facillate the business of legislating. Part III considers how congressional institutions affect policy decision making, and Part IV examines how Congress designs institutional arrangements to achieve fovored policy outcomes. --- excerpt for book's back cover