They want to have a greater say in the issues their constituents care most about in order to maximise their re-election chances.
They are assigned to commities by the chamber so that they can develop expertise by focusing on specific issues.
The majority party leadership uses committee assignments to reward party members and control the outcome of legislation.
Total votes: 16
Learning objectives:
Understanding the powers of parliamentary committees.
Understanding the assignment of members to parliamentary committees.
Understanding distributive theories of parliamentary institutions (Shepsle).
Understanding informational theories of parliamentary institutions (Krehbiel).
Understanding partisan theories of parliamentary institutions (Cox & McCubbins).
Presentation videos: