Op-ed
Why working鈥慶lass people account for around 1% of lawmakers in the US 鈥� and only 2% in the average democracy around the world
Noam Lupu and Nicholas Carnes
In an op-ed for The Conversation, CGD Director Noam Lupu and Nicholas Carnes聽examine the stark underrepresentation of working-class people in elected office in the United States and democracies around the world.
Drawing on research spanning nearly 100 democracies, Lupu and Carnes show that people from working-class jobs make up only a tiny fraction of lawmakers. They explain how the personal and financial burdens of running for office, combined with the ways political parties and other gatekeepers recruit candidates, make it especially difficult for working-class people to get on the ballot.