Is the legislative effectiveness of lawmakers related to the universities they graduate from? Extant research reveals that factors such as gender, seniority, and even skin tone are significant predictors of legislative effectiveness. However, most of this research is limited to the United States and fails to carefully consider the potential effects of education on effective lawmaking. This article examines data from, introducing alma maters, education level and field of study to the analysis. The results confirm that sex has significant effects on legislative effectiveness, but they also reveal that educational background and pedigree are better predictors of effective lawmaking than age, complexion and even experience. These findings challenge the generalizability of extant theory and suggest that “soft” skills –rather than technical expertise– are the mechanism through which elite education facilitates effective lawmaking
