Center Affiliates – Center for Effective Lawmaking

(C)H.Dodge,L.Lamsa

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Co-Directors Craig Volden (University of Virginia) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and Faculty Affiliates Mary Kroeger (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), Erinn Lauterbach (Villanova University), and Kelsey Shoub (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) demonstrate how behind-the-scenes lawmaking has become much more common in the U.S. Congress in recent years, with numerous bills embedded in must-pass legislation. Building on previous political science research, they offer a methodology to identify all bills that are substantially embedded in all laws in both…

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July 16, 2024

About the CEL / Center Affiliates / Conference / Events / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The CEL’s 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking

Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (r) being presented with the CEL’s Best Publication award by co-director Craig Volden (l) (Photo by Jenna Huber, Batten School). The CEL's 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) was pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 Award for the Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking at our Sixth Annual Research Conference, at the University of Virginia on Monday, June 10, 2024. The recipients of this year’s award are Pamela Ban (UC San Diego), Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (The Ohio…

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June 18, 2024

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Inside the 6th Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking

Group photo outside the UVA Rotunda (Photo by Jenna Huber, Batten School). Inside the 6th Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) hosted its Sixth Annual Research Conference on Monday, June 10, 2024 at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, VA. Nearly 40 attendees from a wide range of research institutions and organizations came from across the country to discuss and evaluate the ideas connected with effective lawmaking, specifically the three main research areas of the CEL: identification of the characteristics of those…

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June 17, 2024

Center Affiliates

CEL Research Affiliate Wins MPSA Award

CEL Research Affiliate Wins MPSA Award Arjun Vishwanath, a Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) research affiliate and a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, has been given the award for Best Paper in American Politics by the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) for research presented at their 2023 Annual Conference. His article, "The Impact of Values on Issue Stances: Evidence from Panel Studies," tests the role of political values as a driver of issue attitudes relative to two commonly posited sources of such attitudes…

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March 18, 2024

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The Conditional Lawmaking Benefits of Party Faction Membership in Congress

The Conditional Lawmaking Benefits of Party Faction Membership in Congress In this new Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) paper published in Political Research Quarterly, CEL co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University respectively, alongside Lafayette College’s Andrew Clark (also a CEL Faculty Affiliate), examine how joining a party faction can impact a lawmaker’s effectiveness. Party faction membership has been shown to increase lawmakers' electoral success, but this paper investigates if the benefits persist once those lawmakers enter Congress. The authors’ research tests three…

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February 14, 2024

Center Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress Political scientists have emphasized the rightward ideological movement of congressional Republicans across recent decades, relative to a more limited leftward shift by Democrats. However, new research from Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman (of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, respectively), and CEL Graduate Affiliate Patrick Buhr (also of Vanderbilt) argue that this asymmetric polarization has not translated into an equally conservative shift in lawmaking. Drawing on data on the lawmaking effectiveness of Representatives and…

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February 7, 2024

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Meet our Senior Program Associate: George Hadijski

Meet our Senior Program Associate: George Hadijski The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to officially introduce George Hadijski as our new Senior Program Associate. In this role, he will be responsible for increasing the use of the CEL’s research by lawmakers, their staffs, and their influencers.Prior to the CEL, George worked at the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), where he was responsible for the oversight and management of CMF's training and management consulting services provided to US House and Senate offices, the joint legislative operations training program conducted in…

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November 1, 2023

Center Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

I’m Coming Out! How Voter Discrimination Produces Effective LGBTQ Lawmakers

I’m Coming Out! How Voter Discrimination Produces Effective LGBTQ Lawmakers In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, the University of Virginia's Jacob Lollis and Mackenzie Dobson (CEL Graduate Affiliate) look into the effectiveness of LGBTQ lawmakers. The authors expand on earlier research that connects voter discrimination to effective lawmaking and argue that the prejudice that LGBTQ legislators face from voters enables them to be effective lawmakers. To test this, Lollis and Dobson take data on state legislators’ sexual identity and compare it to data on state legislative effectiveness…

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October 31, 2023

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Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Andrew Pennock

Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Andrew Pennock The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is excited to introduce one of our newest faculty affiliates, Andrew Pennock. Currently, he serves as an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia (UVA). While at UVA, Professor Pennock has leveraged his relationship with Virginia state legislators to establish Batten as an influential force for policy development in the state. He serves in a number of capacities at UVA including as an elected member…

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October 27, 2023

About the CEL / Center Affiliates

Meet our Research Affiliates: Fred Gui and Arjun Vishwanath

Meet our Research Affiliates: Fred Gui and Arjun Vishwanath The Center for Effective Lawmaking is happy to introduce Fred Gui and Arjun Vishwanath as two of our newest postdoctoral research affiliates.Fred Gui is a postdoctoral research associate at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. His research interests include American political institutions, interest groups, state and local politics, and racial and ethnic politics. His most recent project examines the impact of having racial diverse staffers on the corresponding legislators' choices to sponsor and…

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October 12, 2023

University of Virginia+Vanderbilt University

University of Virginia
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Vanderbilt University