A matter of size: Examining representation and responsiveness in state legislatures and city councils

Representation and legislative responsiveness are vital components of a functional democracy. In representative democracies legislators are elected to stand for, and act on behalf of, the citizenry. Although fundamental to the effectiveness of America's political system, both representation and responsiveness can be influenced by external factors such as legislature and constituency size.;What follows is an exploration of representation and responsiveness in American states and cities through the lens of legislature and constituency size. All 50 states are included in the analyses as well as cities with populations of at least 100,000 people as of the 2010 decennial census.;The research argues that legislature size matters in three distinct ways: 1) descriptive representation, 2) education outcomes, and 3) socioeconomic realities. Evidence presented here suggests larger legislatures are linked with improved descriptive representation for certain marginalized population groups at both units of analysis. In terms of responsiveness, larger constituencies are associated with a greater percentage of citizens who did not graduate high school and are positively related to the percentage of the public living in poverty. This is true at state and city levels.;A theory of legislature size is presented in the conclusion to help explain the empirical results. This theory posits that a larger legislature---relative to the population it is charged with representing---will be more demographically congruent than a relatively smaller assembly, on average. Improved descriptive representation results in a transition from passive to active representation (i.e., standing for versus acting for). It is through substantive representation that legislators become responsive to constituent demands and broader societal needs. Legislative responsiveness---in the form of agenda setting, policy creation, and targeted spending---contributes to improved societal outcomes, the final stage of this theoretical model.;In sum, this dissertation suggests that racial minorities and women are underrepresented by state legislatures and city councils. Furthermore, larger legislatures are more descriptively representative than their smaller counterparts, especially among non-Whites and Latino/as. Plus, as constituencies grow, better education outcomes suffer and poverty rates increase, on average. The totality of the findings indicate that real implications emerge when political constituencies grow too large.