Study finds political parties drive most of Washington polarization
A new study published in the Journal of Political Economy attributes the majority of current congressional polarization to political parties rather than individual politicians.
Research team analyzes voting records
University of Miami professor Chad Kendall co-authored a paper with economists Nathan Canen and Francesco Trebbi. The researchers examined roll call votes cast by members of Congress between 1927 and 2018. Their analysis distinguishes between policy disagreements and personal animosity among legislators.
Party affiliation outweighs individual thought
The study concludes that party directives influence voting behavior more than the personal views of the representatives. Kendall noted that polarization refers to politicians preferring different policies rather than simply disliking one another. This finding suggests structural forces within parties shape legislative outcomes significantly.
Reported by one outlet
Only one outlet has published this. Nothing here has been checked against a second report, so read it as that outlet's account and follow the link below for the original.
Reported by
1 independent outlet. Headline as published. Links open the original report.