Human Capital and Legislative Outcomes

Abstract

This paper presents a model in which legislators use informational advantages to engage in rent-seeking activities. Previous work that postulated either informational asymmetries or rent-seeking behavior could not explain deviations from the median preference without reference to "committee power." Integration of these forces demonstrates that legislative outcomes need not correspond to the median preference regardless of the extent to which "committee power" is present in a legislature. In general, both procedural and informational asymmetries can induce deviations in legislative outcomes.