Is fair representation good for children? effects of electoral partisan bias in state legislatures on policies affecting children's health and well-being.

ABSTRACT: Increasing evidence suggests that state policies impact constituents' health, but political determinants of health and health inequities remain understudied. Using state and year fixed-effects models, we determined the extent to which changes in electoral partisan bias in lower chambers of U.S. state legislatures (i.e., discrepancy between statewide vote share and seat share) were followed by changes in five state policies affecting children and families (1980-2019) and a composite of safety net programs (1999-2018). We examined effects on each policy and whether the effect was modified when bias was accompanied by unified party control. Next, we determined whether the effect differed depending on which party it favored. Less bias resulted only in higher AFDC/TANF benefits. Both pro-Democr

SUBMITTER: Karatekin C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11884813 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature