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Policy Making in the Shadow of Executive Action
Author(s) -
Moraguez Ashley
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12632
Subject(s) - commit , legislature , political science , presidential system , prerogative , undo , shadow (psychology) , law and economics , action (physics) , contest , law , public administration , politics , economics , computer science , psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , database , psychotherapist , operating system
Presidents have prerogative powers, such as signing statements, that seemingly undo legislative bargains. Why do legislators commit to bargains within the legislature if the president can unravel those deals? I argue that legislators bargain over both their policy and electoral interests in the face of looming presidential action and that this induces legislators to commit to bargains, even when they know the president will not maintain their agreements. I derive the prediction that signing statements are more likely when congressional polarization is low. I find support for this expectation, using data on polarization and signing statements from 1981 until 2012.