ECONOMY

ui j. p. de figueiredo, tonja jacobi & barry r. weingast 207
Table 11.2 Regulatory appointments to the NLRB
Predicted sign of change
Actual sign of change Total
− 0 +
− 6 3 1 10
0 3 12 3 18
+ 0 6 9 15
Total 9 21 13 43
Source: Snyder and Weingast 2000, table 2.
Table 11.2 summarizes the results. As can be seen, most appointees are as predicted:
when the predicted sign change of the median is negative (a move to the right),
60 per cent of the actual appointees move the median to the left; when the predicted
sign is 0, two-thirdsareaspredicted;andwhenthepredictedsignispositive,
60 per cent are as predicted. Moreover, using a nested-regression framework, they test
this model against both the null model and the presidential dominance hypothesis
(predicting that only the president’s preferences matter). The separation-of-powers
model outperforms both the presidential dominance and null models.
In short, the model shows the importance of the interaction of the president and
Senate with respect to appointments. Both branches matter, and the president must
take the Senate’s preferences into account when making nominations, lest she risk
failure.
2.1 Conclusions
The new separation-of-powers approach provides powerful new insights into presidential
behavior. The use of spatial models and other techniques affords an accounting
system that allows us to keep track of different parameters in the political
environment, in turn, allowing us to say how presidential behavior varies with the
political environment. The models of veto behavior, budgets, and appointments all
show the systematic influence of Congress on the president. To further her goals, the
president must anticipate the interaction with Congress.
3 The Courts
.............................................................................
As with the other branches, the courts operate within, and constitute part of, the
political system: the policy positions of Congress, the president, and the bureaucracy
constrain judges in their policy-making role. The new separation-of-powers analysis
shows how the formal constraints that operate on the judiciary force it to consider