Roll call votes in democratic legislatures: the reasons for their use and their effects on legislative behavior

This dissertation examines the reasons for the selection of roll call votes and their effects on legislators' voting behavior in democratic legislatures. First, the dissertation shows that legislators have an incentive to facilitate the use of roll call votes when they expect that their policy preferences are aligned with those of important actors outside the legislature. Moreover, legislators tend to request roll call votes when they expect outside actors to reward them for their voting behavior and they tend not to request roll call votes when they expect outside actors to punish them for their behavior in roll call votes. Second, the dissertation demonstrates that roll call votes matter for the voting behavior of legislators seeking reelection. This suggests that in many roll call votes, reelection-seeking legislators adapt their voting behavior because of an expectation that outside actors will reward or punish them for their publicly observable voting decisions.