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Tactical and Contextual Determinants of U.S. Senators' Approval Ratings
Author(s) -
SCHAFFNER BRIAN F.,
SCHILLER WENDY J.,
SELLERS PATRICK J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
legislative studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.728
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1939-9162
pISSN - 0362-9805
DOI - 10.3162/036298003x200863
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , state (computer science) , political science , population , public economics , business , public administration , economics , sociology , demography , geography , computer science , archaeology , algorithm
This paper focuses on U.S. senators and their home‐state approval ratings from 1981 to 1997. We examine these ratings to assess the relative impacts of tactical factors, such as the senators' bill sponsorship and media activity, and contextual influences, such as economic performance, state population size, and the evaluations and behavior of other elected officials. We find that the senators' own tactical behavior affects the approval ratings, but a stronger influence is the context in which the senators operate.