This paper investigates how often and under what conditions legislators vote in accordance with constituent opinion. The main innovation is to measure constituent opinion using referendum election returns. In a sample of 3,983 roll-call votes on 31 laws in nine states, I find that legislator...

This paper studies whether green investors can influence corporate greenhouse gas emissions through capital markets, either by divesting their stock and limiting polluters' access to capital, or holding polluters' stock and engaging with management. We focus on public pension funds, classifying...

Voter initiatives are a central part of the policy making process in many states. While much evidence shows that the initiative process affects policy choices, almost no evidence explains how the initiative process affects policy. One view is that initiatives change policy directly through...

This paper presents evidence from parallel field experiments in China, Germany, and the United States. We contacted the mayor’s office in over 6,000 cities asking for information about procedures for starting a new business. Chinese and German cities responded to 36-37 percent requests;...

This paper develops a theory of how shareholder decision rights over policies and directors affect firm value. The model highlights the distinction between the right to approve and the right to propose. The right to approve is weak; the right to propose is impactful but can help as well as hurt...

New government spending must be approved by a referendum of citizens in many Swiss cantons. This decisionmaking procedure seems like a simple way to address citizen-legislator agency problems, but little systematic evidence is available concerning its effect on spending outcomes. We estimate...