Research: Congressional town halls signal and support effective lawmaking News In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Alan E. Wiseman write that Representatives and Senators who engage constituents through town halls can enhance their lawmaking effectiveness in Congress.
Volden Wins Honor for Paper That Highlights How Women Policymakers Thrive News Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter were recognized for their research exploring the effectiveness of female agency leaders. They discuss the "glass walls" effect and the potential implications of their findings.
The Primary Path for Turning Legislative Effectiveness into Electoral Success Research Effective lawmakers are the workhorses of the US Congress, yet we know little about the electoral payoffs of their efforts. Are effective lawmakers better at warding off challengers in the next election? Do they win at a greater rate?
Batten Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, Research and Engagement News This academic year, Batten School professors won a slew of internal and external recognitions for excellence in teaching, service, research and engagement.
To Run or Not to Run? Not Enough Women Consider Political Office in the First Place. News A new report by Batten School Professor Jennifer Lawless highlights the gender gap in political ambition. The research declares that “politics remains a game for men.”
Volden Discusses New Book on ‘New Books Network’ Podcast News Batten’s Craig Volden discusses his new book, "Why Bad Policies Spread (And Good Ones Don't)" with Ursula Hackett, Senior Lecturer in Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Why Do Bad Policies So Often Spread But Good Ones Don’t? News In their new book "Why bad policies spread (and good one’s don’t)," Batten's Craig Volden and Charles R. Shipan draw from a wide range of policy domains to examine whether states learn from another to improve the spread of good or effective policies, which policies spread for which reasons and which conditions lead to good or bad policies to spread, among other core questions.
Faculty Spotlight: Improving the Way We Make Laws, with Science News Batten Professor Craig Volden no longer designs spacecraft—instead, he’s engineering a metric to combat political gridlock.
Volden: Experienced Staff Promote Effective Lawmaking News According to research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking, retaining experienced legislative staff is crucial to Congress doing its job better. In an op-ed for The Hill, center co-directors Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman say that when it comes to congressional staff, we get what we pay for.
Volden: Committee Chairs Continue Their Lawmaking Decline News Committee chairs have long been considered power brokers for lawmaking, but according to research from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, their lawmaking effectiveness is diminishing. In an op-ed for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman write about the trend.
The “Do-Something” Members of the 116th Congress: Legislative Effectiveness Study from the Batten School and Vanderbilt University Identifies Member Success in Advancing Bills News Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and retired Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., were the most effective Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the recently completed 116th Congress (2019–20), according to new research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking.
How Women Leaders Can Enhance Rulemaking In The Biden Administration News How can the Biden-Harris team increase its odds for regulatory success? According to research from Batten’s Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter, the new administration can accomplish policy change by hiring women leaders and establishing supportive work environments.