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Published September 22, 2017 | Submitted
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A Spatial Model for Legislative Roll Call Analysis

Abstract

A general nonlinear logit model is used to analyze political choice data. The model assumes probabilistic voting based on a spatial utility function. The parameters of the utility function and the spatial coordinates of the choices and the choosers can all be estimated on the basis of observed choices. Ordinary Guttman scaling is a degenerate case of this model. Estimation of the model is implemented in the NOMINATE program for one dimensional analysis of two alternative choices with no nonvoting. The robustness and face validity of the program outputs are evaluated on the basis of roll call voting data for the U.S. House and Senate. Extensive Monte Carlo studies are also presented. Substantive applications using the results for the Senate are briefly illustrated.

Additional Information

This work was initiated while Poole was a Political Economy Fellow at Carnegie-Mellon and completed while Rosenthal was a Fairchild Scholar at Caltech. We also acknowledge the substantial computational support of the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie-Mellon. This version of the paper has benefited from seminars at Caltech and Stanford. Published as Poole, Keith T., and Howard Rosenthal. "A spatial model for legislative roll call analysis." American Journal of Political Science (1985): 357-384.

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August 19, 2023
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