Blog – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Learn About Effective Lawmaking

Learn About Effective Lawmaking: Introducing Our New Short Course For the first time, the Center for Effective Lawmaking is offering you the opportunity to learn about effective lawmaking from your own home! In eight short video modules, our Co-Director, Professor Craig Volden at the University of Virginia, walks participants through how we measure effective lawmaking, what we include (and don't) in our metrics, and some of our unique findings. Professor Volden also discusses how the Center for Effective Lawmaking has moved to impactful engagement and our exciting plans for future…

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April 6, 2020

Faculty Affiliates

Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Laurel Harbridge-Yong

Professor Laurel Harbridge-Yong at Northwestern University studies the effect of partisan politics in legislative effectiveness.

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March 30, 2020

Legislative Research

Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success

Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Legislative Success The Center for Effective Lawmaking (“CEL”) conducted an in-depth study to explore whether lawmakers in Congress are rewarded in primary elections for their effectiveness. Do effective members win at a greater rate during this time of the electoral cycle? Can they ward off challengers? The answer, for the first time, is clear. And it has obvious impacts on how lawmakers considering reelection should use their time in Congress. Looking at congressional primaries data from 1980-2016 allowed CEL researchers to remove partisan cues and focus…

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March 19, 2020

Events / Video

Watch: Jamelle Bouie on Super Tuesday, Presidential Elections and Debates

On Monday, March 2, the Center for Effective Lawmaking hosted New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie at the University of Virginia. Watch the conversation between Bouie and Center Co-Director Craig Volden as they discuss the 2020 presidential primaries. View it on Vimeo here.

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March 3, 2020

Legislative Research

Is Legislative Effectiveness a Global Concern?

Is Legislative Effectiveness a Global Concern? (New Research from France) Research centers across the globe are exploring how data can help ascertain the effectiveness of their political officials. As the Center for Effective Lawmaking has investigated the legislative performance of US lawmakers, as well as what any trends about such can tell us about our current system, we have a keen interest in learning from our international counterparts. Researchers in France, Mexico and Brazil have created, or are in the process of creating, methodologies to analyze government officials’ activities in…

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March 3, 2020

Legislative Research

How Effective are Party Faction Members in Congress?

How Effective are Party Faction Members in Congress? There is much discussion given today’s political climate about the rise and strength of political factions. As those who are like-minded bind more closely to push through legislation and change, the inclination is to believe that working together in a cohesive faction will wield power to move legislative changes through Congress and the larger the faction the more powerful it is. But is this true? At the Center for Effective Lawmaking, we took an in-depth look at ideological caucuses. Factions (formally referred…

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February 5, 2020

Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Research

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Gerry Warburg

Meet Gerry Warburg: Practitioner and Beloved Professor Gerald Warburg, a Center for Effective Lawmaking Faculty Affiliate, is a seasoned Congressional practitioner who utilizes his breadth of experience to teach and lead the next generation. Currently, Warburg is a Professor of Practice of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. His research interests include the study of best practices by non-governmental organizations and the evolution of U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policies. Warburg’s professional background encompasses a broad array of public service. He…

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December 20, 2019

About the CEL / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Research

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Jennifer L. Lawless

Meet Jennifer L. Lawless: On the Gender Gap in Politics, Advice to Voters, and More CEL faculty affiliate Jennifer L. Lawless is the Commonwealth Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the UVA faculty, she was a professor of Government at American University and the Director of the Women & Politics Institute. Professor Lawless’s research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics. She is the author or co-author of six books, including Women on the Run: Gender, Media and Political Campaigns in…

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December 16, 2019

Legislative Anaylsis / Video

Watch: Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock on Effective Lawmaking

On December 2, the Center for Effective Lawmaking was honored to host Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) at the University of Virginia. Mrs. Comstock's LES for the 115th Congress was a very high 3.706, ranking her 10th of her party (read more about the findings and analysis from the 115th Congress here). As speaker for the Batten Hour, she spoke at length on building coalitions and how we can increase diversity in representation. Watch the entire Batten Hour presentation here:

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December 3, 2019

About the CEL / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Research

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Sarah Treul

Meet Sarah Treul: Living Her Dream to Educate Sarah Treul, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has spent her eight years at the University focused on the broad idea of American political institutions. As one of our faculty affiliates, Treul’s compelling work on the effect of institutional design and rules on political outcomes is what truly distinguishes her research. Most recently, her research has focused on congressional primary elections and the role of candidate experience in campaigns and in Congress. However,…

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November 18, 2019

University of Virginia+Vanderbilt University

University of Virginia
+
Vanderbilt University