Reassessing the Mediating Impact of Legislative Capability

The model of comparative state policy focusing on economic development and interparty competition was reformulated by Edward Carmines to include the mediating impact of state legislatures. This study challenges his initial conclusions, poses an alternative hypothesis, and finds that interparty competition has a consistently stronger impact on “progressive” state policies among states with organizationally weak, ineffective legislative institutions, than among those with organizationally strong, capable legislatures. The findings also reveal that legislative decision-making capability is distinct from the concept of legislative professionalism.