Legislative involvement without reelection: Bill sponsorship activity of Mexican federal deputies: 1985-2015 Involucramiento legislativo sin reelección: La productividad de los diputados federales en México, 1985-2015
Academic Article in Scopus
Standard American models assume reelection as the main incentive for legislative involvement. But what kind of behavior can we expect from representatives serving under a non-reelection norm? The Mexican Chamber of Deputies makes an interesting example for answering the aforementioned question. By analyzing bill sponsorship patterns of Mexican federal deputies throughout the LIII-LXII Congresses (1985-2015), this article tests alternative hypotheses around congressional activity. The research highlights that non-reelection itself does not inhibit legislative entrepreneurship, since a process of regime democratization may stimulate legislators to increase their sponsoring. By using regression models applied to the non-majoritarian stage of the Chamber, the article finds that belonging to an opposition party, being a female legislator, local legislative experience, and college education foster legislators' involvement.
