Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Reilly, Jack
Area of Concentration
Political Science
Abstract
The literature on political polarization indicates that a number of political actions from the late 1970s to the early 1990s made significant changes to the way Congress organizes itself. These events coincide with increasing Republican control of Congress, an increasingly conservative Republican party, and a near-simultaneous increase in economic inequality in the United States. The purpose of this thesis is to question the cause of the relationship between economic inequality and political polarization; specifically, it asks whether an increase in economic inequality is the result of political polarization increasing the likelihood of Republican lawmakers sponsoring and passing economic legislation.
Recommended Citation
Benedi, Dannie Victoria, "POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN CONGRESS AND THE IMPACT ON THE SPONSORSHIP OF ECONOMIC LEGISLATION" (2016). Theses & ETDs. 5158.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5158