Abstract

Previous research suggests that legislators respond to their constituencies when they are vulnerable electoral candidates. This article argues that the legislators that focus on their constituencies (perhaps at the expense of the broader national constituency) will be born and raised in the region where their district is located (biographical factors), junior members of the assembly (intraparty position), and from thinly populated districts (district density). I analyse new data from the Chilean Chamber of Deputies that supports these theoretical expectations. These findings have implications for our understanding of political representation and when legislators represent their districts.