The Spoils of War: State Allocation of Funds by Congressional Defense Committees

John Hope

Advisor: .

Enterprise Hall, 318
December 16, 2004, 07:00 PM to 07:00 PM

Abstract:

This dissertation analyzes the connections between the distribution of prime military contracts by state and congressional district and the voting patterns of representatives. The Public Choice theory provides the foundation of the analysis to show that elected representatives use their committee membership positions to increase the likelihood of reelection. The model is an adaptation of Rundquist, Lee and Rhee (1996) which updates their original results with the latest data (FY2003) and tests other econometric techniques more appropriate for use in fixed-effects models. Further testing determines the relationship between these contracts and defense committee gains and losses, seniority, majority status, and prior military service by members.