Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-g5fl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-25T08:11:16.925Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A Naturally Occurring Quasi-Experiment in the States: Research on Term Limits in Michigan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Shannon Orr
Affiliation:
Wayne State University in the department of political science.
Eric Rader
Affiliation:
Wayne State University in the department of political science.
Jean-Philippe Faletta
Affiliation:
University of Saint Thomas.
Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson
Affiliation:
Wayne State University and the Principal Investigator on the Term Limits Project.
Charles Elder
Affiliation:
Wayne State University.
Lyke Thompson
Affiliation:
Wayne State University in the College of Urban, Labor, and Metropolitan Affairs.
John Strate
Affiliation:
Wayne State University.
Richard Elling
Affiliation:
Wayne State University.

Abstract

Term limits provide a rare opportunity to employ pre- and post-intervention research designs to investigate the effects of turnover in legislatures. This article describes a study of term limits in Michigan that takes advantage of this opportunity. With eight states implementing term limits in 2002 or soon thereafter, there are opportunities for other scholars to replicate all or parts of the study described here. The payoffs for such projects in terms of generating systematic answers to the impacts of legislative turnover and term limits are considerable.

Type
The Practical Researcher
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 The American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnhart, Michael. 1999. “A Study of Term Limitation and the Michigan House.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss. Wayne State University.Google Scholar
Berkowitz, Stephen D. 1982. An Introduction to Structural Analysis. Toronto: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Brown, Clifford W., Powell, Lynda W., and Wilcox, Clyde. 1995. Serious Money: Fundraising and Contributing in Presidential Campaigns. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldeira, G.A., Clark, J.A., and Patterson, S.C.. 1993. “Political Respect in the Legislature.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 18(1): 328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., Niemi, Richard G., and Powell, Lynda W.. 1998. “The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23:271300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carson, C. 1998. “Public Policy Dispute Settlement: A Best Practice Model.” Presented at the Dispute Resolution Study Circle, Mediating Theory and Democratic Systems. Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.Google Scholar
Cassie, William E., and Thompson, Joel A.. 1998. “Patterns of PAC Contributions to State Legislative Candidates.” In Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections, eds. Thompson, Joel A. and Moncrief, Gary F.. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.Google Scholar
Cohen, Linda R., and Spitzer, Matthew L.. 1996. “Term Limits and Representation.” In Legislative Term Limits: Public Choice Perspectives, ed. Grofman, Bernard. Boston, MA: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Cook, T.D., and Campbell, D.T.. 1979. Quasi-experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Coyne, James K., and Fund, John H.. 1992. Cleaning House: America's Campaign for Term Limits. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway.Google Scholar
Crane, Edward H. 1994. “Testimony before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate.” U.S. Term Limits Foundation Outlook Series. Vol. III, No. 1. <http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-cr-i.html> (January 25, 1995).+(January+25,+1995).>Google Scholar
Daniel, Kermit, and Lott, John R. Jr. 1997. “Term Limits and Electoral Competitiveness: Evidence from California's State Legislative Races.” Public Choice 90:165184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrenhalt, Alan. 1991. The United States of Ambition: Politicians, Power, and the Pursuit of Office. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Eisenstein, James, and Berkman, Michael B.. 1998. “PAC Contributions to State and National Candidates: An Exploration of Strategies across Economic Sectors.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.Google Scholar
Faletta, J., Elder, C., Orr, S., Rader, E., Caress, S., Elling, R., Herring, M., Marckini, L., Sarbaugh-Thompson, M., Strate, J., and Thompson, L.. 2000a. “Term Limits' Effects on the Electoral Environment and Composition of the California State Assembly and the Michigan State House of Representatives.” Presented at Coping with Term Limits: Ohio and the Nation, Columbus, OH.Google Scholar
Faletta, J., Thompson, L., Strate, J., Sarbaugh-Thompson, M., and Orr, S.. 2000b. “Leadership Without Seniority.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Association, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Glazer, Amihai, and Wattenberg, Martin P.. 1996. “How Will Term Limits Affect Legislative Work?” In Legislative Term Limits: Public Choice Perspectives, ed. Grofman, Bernard. Boston, MA: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Grofman, Bernard, ed. 1996. Legislative Term Limits: Public Choice Perspectives. Boston, MA: Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grofman, Bernard, and Sutherland, Neil. 1996. “The Effect of Term Limits When Competition is Endogenized: A Preliminary Model.” In Legislative Term Limits: Public Choice Perspectives, ed. Grofman, Bernard. Boston, MA: Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurwitt, Rob. 1996. “Greenhorn Government.” Governing. February: 15-9.Google Scholar
Heinz, John P., Laumann, Edward O., Nelson, Robert L., and Salisbury, Robert H.. 1993. The Hollow Core: Private Interests in National Policy Making. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Herrick, Rebekah, Moore, Michael K., and Hibbing, John R.. 1994. “Unfastening the Electoral Connection : The Behavior of U.S. Representatives When Reelection Is No Longer a Factor.” Journal of Politics 56:214227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacob, Paul. 1991. Term Limits in America. Washington, DC: Cato Press.Google Scholar
Knoke, David, and Kuklinski, James H.. 1982. Network Analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: SageGoogle Scholar
LaRaja, Raymond J., and Apollonio, Dorie. 1999. “Term Limits and Campaign Contributions: Do Lame Ducks Suffer?” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Marckini, L., Strate, J., and Rader, E.. 1999. “Term Limits and Campaign Contributions in the Michigan House of Representatives.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta.Google Scholar
McCracken, Grant. 1988. The Long Interview. Newbury Park, CA: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moncrief, Gary F., Thompson, Joel A., and Cassie, William. 1996. “Revisiting the State of U. S. State Legislative Research.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 21:301335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petracca, Mark P. 1995. “A Comment on ‘Elections as Filters’.” Political Research Quarterly 48:729740.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polsby, Nelson. 1993. “Some Arguments against Congressional Term Limitations.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 16:15151526.Google Scholar
Porter, H.O. 1974. “Legislative Experts and Outsiders: The Two-Step Flow of Communication.” Journal of Politics 36:703730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, H. O., and Leuthold, D.A. 1970. “Legislative Expertise in Michigan: Formal and Informal Patterns Over Time.” The Michigan Academican 2: 7183.Google Scholar
Rader, E., Elder, C., and Elling, R.. 2000. “Motives and Behaviors of the New Breed of Term Limited Legislators.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Association, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Reed, W. Robert, and Eric Schansberg, D.. 1995. “The House under Term Limits: What Would it Look Like?Social Science Quarterly 76:698719.Google Scholar
Rix, Dalene L., and Pinney, Neil. 1999. “A Price for Term Limits: Comparing the Competition in Primaries for Michigan's State House of Representatives (1994-1998).” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1989. “The Legislative Institution _ Transformation and At Risk.” In The State of the States, ed. Horn, Carl Van. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
Sarbaugh-Thompson, M., and Thompson, L.. 1999. “Webs of Influence.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Joseph A. 1966. Ambition and Politics. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Scott, John. 1991. Social Network Analysis: A Handbook. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Squire, Peverill. 1992. “Legislative Professionalization and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 17:6979.Google Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 1998. “Membership Turnover and the Efficient Processing of Legislation.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23: 2332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Joel A., and Moncrief, Gary F.. 1993. “The Implications of Term Limits for Women and Minorities: Some Evidence from the States.” Social Science Quarterly 74:300309.Google Scholar
Thompson, Joel A., and Moncrief, Gary F.. 1998. Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.Google Scholar
Wasserman, Stanley, and Galaskiewicz, Joseph, eds. 1994. Advances in Social Network Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Will, George F. 1992. Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar