Electoral Systems, Selection, and Re-election:Evidence from Italian Municipalities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Gulino
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Political Careers ◽  
Proportional Systems ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Micro Level

Abstract Using micro-level data on local Italian elections and exploiting a discontinuity at a population cutoff, I study the effect of electoral systems on politician selection and re-election. Evidence shows that the mayor’s probability of re-election is 25 percentage points higher in majoritarian systems than in proportional systems. Ruling coalitions elected under the majoritarian system enjoy a stable and long-lasting majority, attract more central transfers, and invest more in public libraries. While mayors elected under the two different electoral systems do not differ in any observable characteristics, they do tend to embark on a different political careers once they lose their municipal office. Surprisingly, mayors elected under the proportional system have a higher probability of being elected to regional offices after their mandate. (JEL D72, H70, P16)

Political Dynasties and Particularistic Campaigns

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-466
Author(s):  
Taishi Muraoka
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Political Careers ◽  
Campaign Strategies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
Important Variation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Strategic Incentives ◽  
Micro Level

Although many studies agree that electoral systems shape campaign strategies that candidates employ, there is important variation in their focuses and rhetoric even among those who face the same institutional constrains. To solve this puzzle, I argue that the dynastic status of candidates, defined as coming from a family with a history of involvement in politics, is an important individual-level predictor of campaign strategies. Dynastic candidates inherit personal support bases from their family members who have previously served in congress, and the special ties with these support bases provide them strategic incentives to adopt particularistic appeals in their campaigns. Analyzing the electoral manifestos of legislative candidates in Japan, I show that dynastic candidates are more likely to emphasize the distribution of particularistic goods than nondynastic candidates. I also find that the link between dynastic status and a particularistic campaign is especially strong among candidates with relatively short political careers. This study contributes to literature on the determinants of campaign strategies by offering a micro-level explanation for why some candidates rely more heavily on targeted and particularistic appeals than others.

scholarly journals The Micro-Level Anatomy of the Labor Share Decline*

2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 1031-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Kehrig ◽  
Nicolas Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Labor Share ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The labor share in U.S. manufacturing declined from 61% in 1967 to 41% in 2012. The labor share of the typical U.S. manufacturing establishment, in contrast, rose by over 3 percentage points during the same period. Using micro-level data, we document five salient facts: (i) since the 1980s, there has been a dramatic reallocation of value added toward the lower end of the labor share distribution; (ii) this aggregate reallocation is not due to entry/exit, to “superstars” growing faster, or to large establishments lowering their labor shares, but is instead due to units whose labor share fell as they grew in size; (iii) low labor share (LL) establishments benefit from high revenue labor productivity, not low wages; (iv) they also enjoy a product price premium relative to their peers; and (v) they have only temporarily lower labor shares that rebound after five to eight years. This transient pattern has become more pronounced over time, and the dynamics of value added and employment are increasingly disconnected. Taken together, we interpret these facts as pointing to a significant role for demand-side forces.

scholarly journals Gender Equality and Electoral Violence in Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (174) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmané Ouedraogo ◽  
Idrissa Ouedraogo
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Electoral Violence ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

We examine the impact of gender equality on electoral violence in Africa using micro-level data from the sixth round of Afrobarometer surveys. The sample covers 30 countries. We find that gender equality is associated with lower electoral violence. Quantitatively, our estimates show that an increase in female-to-male labor force participation ratio by 1 percentage point is correlated with a reduction of the probability of electoral violence across the continent by around 4.2 percentage points. Our results are robust to alternative ways to measure electoral violence and gender equality, as well as to alternative specifications. The findings of this paper support the long-standing view that women empowerment contributes to the reduction of violence and underscore the urgency of addressing gender inequality in Africa.

Ballot spoilage as a response to limitations on choice and influence

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406882199025
Author(s):  
Patrick Cunha Silva ◽  
Brian F Crisp
Keyword(s):  
Regression Discontinuity ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Proportional Systems ◽  
Reasoning Systems

Electoral systems vary in terms of the choice and influence they offer voters. Beyond selecting between parties, preferential systems allow for choices within parties. More proportional systems make it likely that influence over who determines the assembly’s majority will be distributed across relatively more voters. In response to systems that limit choice and influence, we hypothesize that voters will cast more blank, null, or spoiled ballots on purpose. We use a regression discontinuity opportunity in French municipal elections to test this hypothesis. An exogenously chosen and arbitrary cutpoint is used to determine the electoral rules municipalities use to select their assemblies. We find support for our reasoning—systems that do not allow intraparty preference votes and that lead to disproportional outcomes provoke vote spoilage. Rates of vote spoilage are frequently sufficient to change control over the assembly if those votes had instead been cast validly for the second-place party.

scholarly journals Active versus passive academic networking: evidence from micro-level data

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev K. Goel ◽  
Christoph Grimpe
Keyword(s):  
Level Data ◽  
Micro Level

Segregation, Integration, and Death: Evidence from the Korean War

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Connor Huff ◽  
Robert Schub
Keyword(s):  
Korean War ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Military Units ◽  
Null Finding

Abstract How does the design of military institutions affect who bears the costs of war? We answer this question by studying the transformative shift from segregated to integrated US military units during the Korean War. Combining new micro-level data on combat fatalities with archival data on the deployment and racial composition of military battalions, we show that Black and white soldiers died at similar rates under segregation. Qualitative and quantitative evidence provides one potential explanation for this counterintuitive null finding: acute battlefield concerns necessitated deploying military units wherever soldiers were needed, regardless of their race. We next argue that the mid-war racial integration of units, which tied the fates of soldiers more closely together, should not alter the relative fatality rates. The evidence is consistent with this expectation. Finally, while aggregate fatality rates were equal across races, segregation enabled short-term casualty discrepancies. Under segregation there were high casualty periods for white units followed by high casualty periods for Black units. Integration eliminated this variability. This research note highlights how enshrining segregationist policies within militaries creates permissive conditions for either commanders' choices, or the dictates and variability of conflict, to shape who bears war's costs.

scholarly journals The Socioeconomic Profile of Well-Funded Public Libraries: A Regression Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Michael Carlozzi
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
State Level ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Library Funding ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Socioeconomic Profile ◽  
Socioeconomic Data ◽  
To Receive

Abstract Objective – This study aimed to explore the well-established link between public library funding and activity, specifically to what extent socioeconomic factors could explain the correlation. Methods – State-level data from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners were analyzed for 280 public libraries using two linear regression models. These public libraries were matched with socioeconomic data for their communities. Results – Confirming prior research, a library’s municipal funding correlated strongly with its direct circulation. In terms of library outputs, the municipal funding appeared to represent a library’s staffing and number of annual visitations. For socioeconomic factors, the strongest predictor of a library’s municipal appropriation was its “number of educated residents.” Other socioeconomic factors were far less important. Conclusion – Although education correlated strongly with library activity, variation within the data suggests that public libraries are idiosyncratic and that their funding is not dictated exclusively by the community’s socioeconomic profile. Library administrators and advocates can examine what libraries of similar socioeconomic profiles do to receive additional municipal funding.

Foundations of Political Trust

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Listhaug ◽  
Tor Georg Jakobsen
Keyword(s):  
Political Psychology ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Literature Research ◽  
Institutional Approach ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Micro Level

Research on political trust has been through a period of strong growth and now constitutes an important field within political behavior. The research growth is driven at least partly by access to new sources of data, which are relevant for testing many of the explanations of political trust discussed in the research literature. Research has moved in several directions. Overall, we observe that research on political trust is strongly integrated into mainstream research on political behavior with an emphasis of attitudes and other political psychology constructs. Complementing the micro-level approach, there is also a movement toward macro-level studies, with strong links to institutions. The institutional approach is primarily linked to electoral institutions and serves to test main hypotheses about differences between electoral systems.

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