JD, Businessman, Doctor? The Influence of Educational and Occupational Backgrounds on Legislative Effectiveness

Authors

Michael Sean Covey, Brigham Young University
Michael Barber, Brigham Young University

Keywords

occupational background, legislative effectiveness, campaign season, congressional condidates

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

Every two years, voters across the country send dozens of newly elected U.S. representatives to Congress, and these freshmen come from all educational backgrounds and professions. There are MBAs, JDs, and PhDs, as well as former doctors, entrepreneurs, professors, attorneys, military leaders, state legislators and corporate executives. And during campaign season, it is common for congressional candidates to tout their pre-political backgrounds as evidence that they will be successful in Congress (see Figure 1). Candidate Stephen Tryon, for example, ran against incumbent Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s third congressional district in 2014 and advertised that he was a “proven soldier and leader, successful business executive, and noted author” (Burr and Jesperson 2014). Are educational and professional backgrounds good predictors of legislative effectiveness in the U.S. House, or are they largely irrelevant?

Recommended Citation

Covey, Michael Sean and Barber, Michael (2016) "JD, Businessman, Doctor? The Influence of Educational and Occupational Backgrounds on Legislative Effectiveness," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2016: Iss. 1, Article 54.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2016/iss1/54