The Effects of Congressional Appropriation Committee Membership on the Distribution of Federal Research Funding to Universities

Does congressional representation of a university affect the distribution of research funding to universities? This article studies two types of congressional representation: district representation, reflecting interests related to the politician's constituents, and alma mater affiliation, reflecting the politician's personal interests. I find that both types of representation matter and lobbying efforts by public and private universities may differ. Thus this article suggests politics plays a role in diverting funding that might be given to other institutions based under a more objective process, reducing the potential effectiveness of the funding on research activities.