An accessible approach to a modern Congress course

Political scholars examine the dynamic evolution of laws over time in a volume that “pushes the frontiers of knowledge about lawmaking in the US” (Choice). Politics is at its most dramatic during debates over important pieces of legislation. And while debates over legislative measures can rage for years or even decades before an item is enacted, they also endure long afterward, when the political legacy of a law eventually comes into focus. With a diverse set of contributors—including quantitative political scientists, political development scholars, historians, and economists—Living Legislation provides fresh insights into contemporary American politics and public policy. Many of the contributors to this volume focus on the question of why some laws stand the test of time while others are eliminated, replaced, or significantly amended. Others discuss how laws emerge from—and effect change within—coalition structures; the effectiveness of laws at mediating partisan conflicts; and the ways in which laws interact with broader shifts in the political environment. An essential addition to the study of politics, Living Legislation enhances understanding of democracy, governance, and power.

This book explains the different approaches legislators use when they write laws.

Building on a deep theoretical foundation and drawing on numerous examples, we examine how policies spread across the American states. We argue that for good policies to spread while bad policies are pushed aside, states must learn from one another. The three ingredients for this positive outcome are observable experiments, time to learn, and favorable incentives and expertise among policymakers. Although these ingredients are sometimes plentiful, we also note causes for concern, such as when policies are complex or incompatible with current practices, when policymakers give in to underlying political biases, or when political institutions lack the capacity for cultivating expertise. Under such conditions, states may rely on competition, imitation, and coercion, rather than learning, which can allow bad policies, rather than good ones, to spread. We conclude with lessons for reformers and policymakers and an assessment of our overall argument based on state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why interest groups and members of Congress fight over the procedural details in legislation

It is by now well known that ideological concerns have a major influence on senator's votes over Supreme Court nominees. Much less is understood, however, about the effects of partisanship. This study investigates two aspects of partisanship - first, whether confirmation voting has become more partisan over time, even when controlling for other factors, such as ideology; and second, whether partisanship modifies the influence of ideology. The results demonstrate that partisanship has played an increasing role over time and that the effects of ideology are, to some extent, dependent on partisanship.