The objectives of this paper are first, to examine whether the distribution of federal outlays in the USA are responsive to variation in social needs, and second, to establish whether areas with political representatives on key Congressional committees receive higher levels of federal outlays than might be expected given their needs and resources. The study region is the East North Central region, the observation units are counties, and the outlays examined are for the Departments of Agriculture, and Health, Education and Welfare (to investigate the effects of political representatives), as well as total outlay levels (for evaluating responsiveness to social needs). The study's conclusions are that total outlays are poorly related to social needs, although outlays for specific departments (Agriculture and Health, Education and Welfare) are strongly related, and that political representation has little impact on the distribution of Agriculture, and Health, Education and Welfare outlays in the study area.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArcherJ C, 1980“Congressional incumbent reelection success and federal outlays distribution: A test of the electoral-connection hypothesis”Environment and Planning A12263–277
2.
BaroneMUjifusaGMatthewsD, 1976The Almanac of American Politics (E P Dutton, New York
3.
BrowningC E, 1973The Geography of Federal Outlays (University of North Carolina Studies in Geography 4, Chapel Hill, NC)
4.
BrunnS D, 1975“Vietnam war defence contracts and the House Armed Services Committee”East Lakes Geographer1017–32
5.
Bureau of Census, 1973County and City Data Book, 1972US Department of Commerce (US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC)
6.
ClarkT N, 1968“Community structure, decision-making, budget expenditures, and urban renewal in 51 American communities”American Sociological Review33576–593
7.
ClarkT N, 1975“Catholics, coalitions and policy outputs” in Urban Problems and Public Policy Eds LineberryR LMasottiL HD C Heath, Lexington, Mass) pp 65–78
8.
CoatesB EJohnstonR JKnoxP L, 1977Geography and Inequality (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
9.
Community Services Administration, 1976Federal Outlays, Fiscal Year 1976US Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia
10.
CoxK R, 1979Location and Public Problems (Basil Blackwell, Oxford)
11.
DaftL M, 1971“Public policies for rural America: Legacies or leading edges?”American Journal of Agricultural Economics53250–256
12.
DempsterM A HWildavskyA, 1979“On change: Or, there is no magic size for an increment”Political Studies27371–389
13.
DerthickM, 1968“Intercity differences in administration of the Public Assistance Program” in City Politics and Public Policy Ed. WilsonJ QJohn Wiley, New York) pp 243–266
14.
DownsA, 1957“An economic theory of political action in a democracy”Journal of Political Economy45135–150
15.
DyeT RHurleyT L, 1978“The responsiveness of federal and state governments to urban problems”Journal of Politics40196–207
16.
FerejohnJ A, 1974Pork Barrel Politics: Rivers and Harbours Legislation, 1947–1968 (Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif.)
17.
FlandermeyerR H, 1976Geographic Implications of External Funding for Rural Towns in Missouri PhD thesis, Department of Geography, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
18.
HarbertA S, 1976Federal Grants-in-Aid (Praeger, New York)
19.
HawleyA H, 1963“Community power and urban renewal success”American Journal of Sociology68422–431
20.
HoffmanM KPratherJ E, 1972“The independent effect of region on state government expenditures”Social Science Quarterly5352–65
21.
IsardWCoughlinR E, 1957Municipal Costs and Revenues Resulting from Community Growth (Chandler-Davis, Wellesley, Mass)
22.
JohnstonR J, 1977“Environment, elections and expenditure: Analyses of where governments spend”Regional Studies11383–394
23.
JohnstonR J, 1979Political, Electoral and Spatial Systems (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
24.
LenskiG E, 1966Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification (McGraw-Hill, New York)
25.
MacGillivrayL A, 1973Municipal Power Distribution and Municipal Change PhD thesis, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
26.
MacManusS A, 1978Revenue Patterns in U.S. Cities and Suburbs (Praeger, New York)
27.
MurphyT P, 1971Science, Geopolitics and Federal Spending (D C Heath, Lexington, Mass)
28.
ParetoV, 1935Mind and Society: A Treatise on General Sociology (Jonathan Cape, London)
29.
PinchS P, 1978“Patterns of local authority housing allocation in Greater London between 1966 and 1973”Transactions, Institute of British Geographers335–54
30.
PinchS, 1979“Territorial justice in the city: A case study of the social services for the elderly in Greater London” in Social Problems and the City Eds HerbertD TSmithD MOxford University Press, Oxford) pp 201–223
31.
SharkanskyI, 1968“Regionalism, economic status and the public policies of American States”Social Science Quarterly499–26
32.
SmithD M, 1977Human Geography: A Welfare Approach (Edward Arnold, London)
33.
TurkH, 1970“Interorganisational networks in urban society”American Sociological Review351–19
34.
WilliamsJ M, 1973“The ecological approach in measuring community power concentration”American Sociological Review38230–242
