How Legislators Respond to Localized Economic Shocks: Evidence from Chinese Import Competition

We explore the effects of localized economic shocks from trade on roll-call behavior and electoral outcomes in the U.S. House, 1990–2010. We demonstrate that economic shocks from Chinese import competition — first studied by Autor, Dorn, and Hanson — cause legislators to vote in a more protectionist direction on trade bills but cause no change in their voting on all other bills. At the same time, these shocks have no effect on the reelection rates of incumbents, the probability an incumbent faces a primary challenge, or the partisan control of the district. Though changes in economic conditions are likely to cause electoral turnover in many cases, incumbents exposed to negative economic shocks from trade appear able to fend off these effects in equilibrium by taking strategic positions on foreign-trade bills. In line with this view, we find that the effect on roll-call voting is strongest in districts where incumbents are most threatened electorally. Taken together, these results paint a picture of responsive incumbents who tailor their roll-call positions on trade bills to the economic conditions in their districts.