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Working Outside of the State House (and Senate): Outside Careers as an Indicator of Professionalism in American State Legislatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

H.W. Jerome Maddox
H.W. Jerome Maddox*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Abstract

I present a measure of legislative professionalism for 41 states based on the degree to which legislators hold outside careers while in office. Higher salaries and longer sessions alter the incentives and opportunities for legislators to maintain outside careers. Consequently, outside career activity provides a behavioral indicator of professionalism to supplement existing measures based solely on institutional characteristics. I use financial disclosure reports to assess outside interests. Aggregated to the state level, my indicator is highly correlated with institutional measures of professionalism; at the individual level, it varies by sex and age. These findings support hypotheses that outside career choices are influenced by labor market participation and the financial opportunity costs of legislative service.

Type
The Practical Researcher
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , Summer 2004 , pp. 211 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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References

Appendix: State Biographical Data Sources

Alabama: Alabama Blue Book, 1997-1998. Montgomery, AL: Capitol Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Alaska: Alaska Blue Book. Juneau, AK: Division of State Libraries and Archives, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.legis.state.ak.us.Google Scholar
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California: California Political Almanac. Santa Barbara, CA: California Journal Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Colorado: Colorado Legislative Directory, 1997. Denver, CO: Colorado Press Service, 1998.Google Scholar
Delaware: Legislative Roster of the General Assembly, 139th Assembly. Wilmington, DE: Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.legis.state.de.us.Google Scholar
Florida: Guidebook to Florida Legislators. Baltimore, MD: Legislative Guidebooks, Inc., 1997. State legislative web site: http://taxonomy.myflorida.com/Taxonomy/Government/Legislative%20Branch.Google Scholar
Georgia: Members of the General Assembly of Georgia. Atlanta, GA: House Information Office, 1998.Google Scholar
Illinois: Illinois Blue Book, 1997-1998. Springfield, IL: Illinois Secretary of State, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.state.il.us/legis/.Google Scholar
Indiana: 1998 Indiana General Assembly Legislative Directory. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana State Chamber of Commerce, 1998.Google Scholar
Iowa: Iowa Official Register, 1997-1998. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Secretary of State, 1998. Iowa Red Book On-Line: http://www.sos.state.ia.us/publications/archive/REGISTER/register.htm.Google Scholar
Kentucky: State Directory of Kentucky. Pewee Valley, KY: Directories, Inc., 1997.Google Scholar
Maryland: Maryland Manual, 1997-1998. Annapolis, MD: Hall of Records Commission, 1997. State legislative web site: http://mlis.state.md.us/.Google Scholar
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Political Almanac, Volume 1:The Legislature. Centerville, MA: Center for Leadership Studies, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.state.ma.us/legis/.Google Scholar
Minnesota: Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1997-98. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Secretary of State, 1998.Google Scholar
Mississippi: Mississippi Official and Statistical Register. Jackson, MS: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996.Google Scholar
Missouri: Official Manual of the State of Missouri. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Secretary of State, 1997.Google Scholar
Nebraska: Nebraska Blue Book. Lincoln, NE: Nebraska Legislative Council, 1997.Google Scholar
Nevada: Nevada Legislative Manual. Carson City, NV: Legislative Counsel Bureau, 1998.Google Scholar
New Jersey: New Jersey Political Almanac, 1998-99. Princeton, NJ: Public Affairs Research Institute of New Jersey, 1998. State legislative web site: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us.Google Scholar
New York: The New Red Book, 94th ed. Albany, NY: Williams Press, 1997. State legislative web sites: Assembly- http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/; Senate- http://www.senate.state.ny.us/.Google Scholar
North Carolina: North Carolina Manual, 1997-1998. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, 1998.Google Scholar
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Almanac, 1997-1998. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Department of Libraries, 1997. Oklahoma Almanac On-Line: http://www.odl.state.ok.us/sginfo/whoiswho/who46/index.htm; State legislative web site: http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/.Google Scholar
Oregon: Oregon Blue Book, 1997-1998. Salem, OR: Oregon Secretary of State, 1997.Google Scholar
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Manual, Vol. 113. Harrisburg, PA: Department of General Services, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/.Google Scholar
South Carolina: South Carolina Legislative Manual. Columbia, SC: The South Carolina Assembly, 1997.Google Scholar
South Dakota: South Dakota Legislative Manual. Pierre, SD: South Dakota Secretary of State, 1997.Google Scholar
Texas: Texas State Directory. Austin, TX: Texas Publishing Co., 1997.Google Scholar
Utah: Utah Legislative Manual, 1997-1998. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, 1997.Google Scholar
Washington: Washington State Yearbook, 1997. Sisters, OR: Information Press, 1998.Google Scholar
West Virginia: West Virginia Blue Book. Charleston, WV: Clerk of the West Virginia Senate, 2001.Google Scholar
Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1997-1998. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 1997. State legislative web site: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/.Google Scholar
Wyoming: Wyoming State Government Directory. Cheyenne, WY: Wyoming Secretary of State, 1997.Google Scholar
Multistate Source - Capitol Advantage web site: http://capwiz.com/yo-demo/dbq/officials/.Google Scholar

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