"There is a large literature demonstrating that positive economic conditions increase support for incumbent candidates, but little understanding of how economic conditions affect preferences for parties and for particulars of their platforms. We ask how exogenous shifts to the value of...

We assemble a novel dataset of matched legislative and constituent votes and demonstrate that less income does not mean less representation. We show 1) The opinions of high and low income voters are highly correlated; the legislator's vote often reflects the desire of both. 2) What differences in...

Using California ballot proposition returns and exogenous shifts to labor demand, we provide the first large-scale causal evidence of the impact of economic conditions on policy preferences. Consistent with economic theory, we find that positive economic shocks decrease support for...

Studies that examine the demand for local public services that are financed by a property tax consistently find that renters are more supportive of public spending than homeowners, a finding commonly referred to as the “renter effect.” In this paper we use detailed micro-level survey data to...

We examine housing market and residential mobility changes that occur soon after a school fails to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in Charlotte, NC. Students within attendance zones of failing schools are given priority in lotteries for oversubscribed schools, potentially increasing the...