American Politics Workshop with Justin Grimmer

DateMarch 9, 2015

Time3:00pm

Location
4357 Bunche Hall

Contact
Contact Information
Belinda SunnuPhone bsunnu@polisci.ucla.edu

Presenter:Justin Grimmer, Stanford UniversityTitle: “The Impression of Influence”About the Speaker:Justin Grimmer (Ph.D. 2010, Harvard) is Associate Professor of Political Science at Stanford. His research uses new statistical methods to examine how representation occurs in American politics. His first book, Representational Style in Congress: What Legislators Say and Why It Matters (Cambridge University Press, 2013) shows how senators define the type of representation they provide to constituents and how this affects constituents’ evaluations.  A second book examining legislators’ credit-taking communications use is forthcoming.  Prof. Grimmer’s work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, and others. During the 2013-2014 academic year he was a National Fellow at the Hoover Institute.Abstract:Constituents often fail to hold their representatives accountable for federal spending decisions — even though those very choices have a pervasive influence on American life. Why does this happen? Breaking new ground in the study of representation, The Impression of Influence (Princeton Univ. Press, 2014) demonstrates how legislators skillfully inform constituents with strategic communication and how this facilitates or undermines accountability. Using a massive collection of congressional texts and innovative experiments and methods, the book shows how legislators create an impression of influence through credit claiming messages.

Event Details:

Parking | Directions

Please register here: