Lecture- Rejecting Compromise: Legislators' Fear of Primary Voters

Please join us for an event as part of the Practical Policies: Real-world applications of policy theories with the Institute of Policy Research lecture series Dr. Laurel Harbidge-Yong will give a presentation titled "Rejecting Compromise: Legislators' Fear of Primary Voters".

Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Complaints about gridlock in the policy-making process often assume that inaction is driven by rising polarization between the parties, and the accompanying lack of common ground among legislators. If only a compromise moved policy toward what a legislator wanted, he would vote for it. In co-authored research with Sarah Anderson and Daniel Butler, Laurel Harbridge-Yong explores whether legislators also reject these beneficial, half-loaf compromises. They find that not only do legislators often reject these types of compromises, but their perception that voters will punish them for comprising may exacerbate this behavior, and the gridlock that may result.

Sponsored by the MPPA Student Leadership Council.

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