A PROBIT ANALYSIS OF THE SENATE VOTE ON GRAMM-RUDMAN

The Leviathan theory of government was seemingly contradicted when the U.S. Congress passed the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction law. This stu dy analyzes the Senate vote on Gramm-Rudman to try to determine whethe r legislators acted in their own self interest. A prisoner's dilemma a rgument explains how Senators made themselves better off by limiting t heir own spending abilities. A probit analysis shows how voting for de ficit reduction was consistent with the personal incentives faced by i ndividual legislators. The eventual failure of Gramm-Rudman to elimina te the deficit reveals a need to consider institutional as well as con stitutional means of controlling government.