Mayhew

1
Mayhew Designing an Institution
2
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• Three members of Congress
• A, B, C
• Three bills
• X, Y, Z
• Different values of utility for each bill
• Zero utility if bill fails

3
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• Vote on X, what happens?
• X wins, 2-1 because A and B vote for it
• Payoffs A5, B2, C-8
• (5,2,-8)

4
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• Vote on Y, what happens?
• Y wins, 2-1 because A and C vote for it
• Payoffs (2,-8,5)

5
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• Vote on Z, what happens?
• Z wins, 2-1 because B and C vote for it
• Payoffs (-8,5,2)

6
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• Total payout if X, Y and Z pass
• Payoff (-1,-1,-1)

7
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• What if nothing passes?
• Payoff (0,0,0)
• Pareto Optimal no one can be made better off

8
Collective Action Problem and Incentives for
Party Formation

• What not form parties?
• A and B decide to only vote yes on X
• B has the incentive to defect on Y and also vote
  yes

9
Prisoners Dilemma

• Two players are arrested for committing a crime
• Each are held in different rooms
• Cant talk to each other
• Given two choices
• Cooperate keep quiet
• Defect squeal on their partner

10
Prisoners Dilemma

• Values are still utility
• First number is player 1s utility, second is
  player 2s
• Each player picks depend on what the other player
  will do.

11
Prisoners Dilemma

• Player 1 if player 2 cooperates, what should he
  do?
• Defect
• 4 gt 3

12
Prisoners Dilemma

• Player 1 if player 2 defects, what should he
  do?
• Defect
• 4 gt 3

13
Prisoners Dilemma

• Player 2 if player 1 cooperates, what should
  she do?
• Defect
• 4 gt 3

14
Prisoners Dilemma

• Player 2 if player 1 defects, what should she
  do?
• Defect
• 2 gt 1

15
Prisoners Dilemma

• Final Outcome Both defect

16
Prisoners Dilemma

• Best outcome both cooperate

17
Back to Mayhew

• Part 1
• Members are only interested in reelection
• Activities
• Advertising
• Credit Claiming
• Position Taking

18
Processes and Policies

• First structural units
• Offices, committees, parties
• Second functions of Congress
• Third Institutional Maintenance
• Fourth Comparative look
• Fifth - Reform

19
Structure

• The organization of Congress meets remarkably
  well the needs of its members
• Satisfying electoral needs is not zero-sum
• As long as members dont attack each other,
  everybody wins

20
Offices

• 535 offices, each with its own staff
• Washington staff
• Chief of staff, legislative director, press
  secretary, legislative assistants, constituent
  staff
• District staff
• District Director, constituent workers, field
  representative, scheduler
• Incumbency Advantage everyone gets an office
  and some staff

21
Committees

• House
• 20 standing committees
• Prestige Rules, Appropriations, Ways and Means
  (Tax)
• Constituent Agriculture, Transportation and
  Infrastructure
• Senate
• 14 Standing Committees
• Prestige Appropriations, Finance

22
Committees

• Most work is done in committees
• After bills are submitted, they do to a committee
• Members mark up bill, amend it etc. in sub and
  full committee
• Have hearings on relevant issues by experts

23
Committees

• Committees are good for position taking
• Ex. HUAC, Foreign Relations, Education and Labor
• Also good for credit claiming
• Public Works, Interior, Appropriations,
  Transportation, Ways and Mean
• This is called distributive politics

24
Committees

• Provides a division of labor
• Allows members to specialize
• Small groups so individuals are important
  especially chairs
• Lobbied by interest groups
• Can credibly claim credit

25
Committees

• Seniority most senior member of majority party
  gets to be chair
• Property right Once a member is on a committee,
  cannot be taken off

26
Parties

• How could parties work?
• Take everything away from minority
• Too much to lose
• Act as strong teams
• Members need to be able to take the right
  positions, not pass party programs

27
Parties

• the best service a party can supply to its
  congressmen is a negative one it can leave them
  alone.
• Mayhew sees little party pressure
• Conflicts with members goals
• No admission standards anyone can be a Democrat
  or Republican

28
Consequences

• With reelection goals and institutions set up the
  way they are, what are the policy consequences?
• Possibilities
• Lots of legislation with particularized benefits
• Servicing of the organized
• Symbolic legislation
• Please one audience with legislation for another

29
Consequences

• If everyone focused on electoral goals, how does
  Congress survive?
• Institutional Maintenance Problem
• Three categories
• Allocation who gets what
• Economy short and long term
• Spending and Taxes

30
Solution

• Hire someone to do the work
• Members need some sort of selective incentive to
  do the work
• Paid in institutional power and prestige

31
Solution

• Prestige Committees
• Hard to get on, lots of work, but lots of reward
• Rules
• Scheduling for pet projects
• Keep the trains running on time
• Appropriations
• Money for pet projects
• Keep spending trimmed
• Ways and Means
• Special Tax Provisions
• Keep tax plan sound

32
Reform

• Strengthen Political Parties
• Runs counter to reform to date
• Reed Rules and Speaker Cannon
• Reform Campaign Finance
• More on Reform next week