The changing impact of electoral structure on black representation in the South, 1970-1996

Citation
Tr. Sass et Bj. Pittman, The changing impact of electoral structure on black representation in the South, 1970-1996, PUBL CHOICE, 104(3-4), 2000, pp. 369-388
Citations number
18
Categorie Soggetti
Politucal Science & public Administration
Journal title
PUBLIC CHOICE
ISSN journal
00485829 → ACNP
Volume
104
Issue
3-4
Year of publication
2000
Pages
369 - 388
Database
ISI
SICI code
0048-5829(200009)104:3-4<369:TCIOES>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
For many years voting rights litigation has focused on elimination of at-la rge elections and the creation of "majority-minority" districts - election districts where a majority of the electorate are racial/ethnic minorities. Numerous studies have analyzed the impact of district elections on minority representation, particularly the election of blacks in the South. Most of these studies have focused on a single time period, comparing the ratio of black representatives to black population across cities with different elec toral schemes. The present study combines data from six different data sets to produce a panel of data covering five distinct time periods over a 26 y ear span. Cross-sectional estimates of the effect of district elections in each time period are compared to determine how the efficacy of district ele ctions has changed over time. To control for possible selection bias, inter -temporal models of the impact of changes in election structure on changes in representation are also estimated.