The Party Effect from A to Z and Beyond

The origin of this pair of notes is a study that was not party centered but rather noted that a null hypothesis of no majority party effect could not be refuted. By changing the dependent and/or independent variables of the original study, however, Binder, Lawrence, and Maltzman (1999) find evidence of such an effect. This comment accepts their findings as evidence of majority party influence but questions the durability and robustness of the so-called party effect. Durability is questioned because there is little evidence of an outcome-consequential nature. Robustness is questioned because the findings are sensitive to measures and to model specification. Finally, the conclusion highlights the need for an explicit, formal, outcome-consequential theory of majority party strength.