Political shirking, opponent quality, and electoral support

Several recent papers in the public choice literature suggest that legislators shirk, or vote in a manner contrary to constituent interest. This paper explores the relationship between senatorial shirking and electoral consequences. I model political shirking, opponent quality and election outcomes as simultaneous, and find significant evidence of a relationship between shirking over the senatorial term and electoral outcomes. However, I find that voters punish recent shirking much more than they punish early-term shirking, and that senators apparently act consistently with this relationship.