Early democratic theorists argued that one purpose of a democratic government is to increase the happiness of its citizens. However, all democracies are not equal. Some democracies through their institutional arrangements create broader representation to their citizens, while others reduce...

The article examines two traditional explanations on committee composition along with four new hypotheses. Instead of comparing aggregate committee composition to the composition of the parent chamber at large, as in most studies, committee composition is studied on an individual level. Using...