Lecture 13 Flashcards
electoral system
set of laws the regulate the competition among candidates or parties or both
electoral formula
the way that the votes are translated into seats
ballot structure
how the electoral choices are presented on the ballot paper
magnitude district
number of representatives elected in a district
SMDP
majoritarian plurality system; candidate-centered single-member district; voters only have one vote.
Strenghts:
- simple to understand and inexpensive
- one representative per district (responsibility)
- easier for voters to understand who is accountable
Criticisms:
- candidate can win without absolute majority= unrepresentative outcomes
- encourages strategic voting– single-member district; if most preferred candidate has no real chance of winning
- creation of ethnic parties– some countries are regionally concentrated
SNTV (single non transferable vote)
majoritarian plurality system; single candidate-centered vote in multi-member district. Party present a list of candidates and voters choose one of them; those that receive more votes go to the multi-member district; to ensure a seat 1/(n+1); n= number of seats
Strenghts:
- more proportional and representative than SMDP
Weakneses:
- weakens parties and encourages factionalization: candidates compete also with other candidates of the same party
- encourages clientelistic behavior: depends on the size of “n”
- few incentives broad-based coalitions
- favors incumbent well-organized parties
Alternative vote (AV)
majoritarian absolute majority system; voters rank order the candidates in order of preference, used in single-member district
- full preference. voters rank order all candidates
- optional preference: voters have to rank order only some candidates
If not majority– votes are re-allocated accordingly to preferences
Strenghts:
- easy to understand for voters who is accountable
- discourages strategic voting
- incentive to cover all policy positions to attract voters as “second preference”
Criticisms:
- most preferred candidate in a district is kicked out
- requires a reasonable degree of literacy and numeracy
- counting process can be costly
Advantages of Federalism
- gets the government closer to the citizens= increased government accountability
- competition among governments favours good performances to attract citizens and investments
- encourages policy experimentations
- provides further bulwark against tyranny with more checks and balances
- creates a closer match between policy and citizens’ preferences
Disadvantages of Federalism
- competition might produce deleterious consequences such as “downward harmonization” with lowering levels of trade, welfare and regulation
- exacerbates collective action problems in case of policy formulation and implementation
- governmnet’s accountability might decrease
- competition among governments might lead to incresing inequalities especially in asymmetric federalisms
- risk of governmnet duplication and overlapping of potentially contradictory policies
Two-round system
absolute majority majoritarian system
Voters cast a single-candidate centered vote in a single-member district– the one with absolute majority wins
If no majority– second round elections take place; the one with most votes is elected
- majority run-off TRS: candidate-centered system; voters have single vote– if no one has majority then the two with most votes go on
- majority-plurality TRS: candiate-centered system; voters have a single vote– if no one reaches majority those who reach a certain threshold go on
Strenghts:
- it gives more freedom to voters: change mind in between rounds
- less inclination to vote strategically (two opportunities)
- suited for countries with high literacy
- incentive to find compromises with other political leaders (look beyonf one’s own electoral base)
- winning party is officially elected by a majority
Weaknesses:
- costly for authorities
- considerable drop in the affluence of voters in the second round
- possible ostracization of minorities
block vote
majoritarian plurality system
candidate-centered system used in multimember districts in which voters have as many votes as there are candidates to be elected– the one with most votes wins
party block vote
majoritarian plurality system
the party block vote is used in multimember districts in which voters cast a single party-centered vote for their party of choice– the party with most votes wins the district seats
proportional system
it uses a quota or divisor and employed in multimember districts.
All PR systems share two things:
- they are multimember districts: it is impossible to divide one seat
- they use quota or divisor to determine who is elected in each district: determine the number of votes needed to receive a seat
Strenghts:
- more accurate outcomes
- small parties gain representation
- voters are more inclined to vote sincerily
Weakneses:
- ethnical/religious enclosure in fragmentated states proportional to their presence
- coalition governments: great concessions to small parties
- representation to small extremist parties
- difficult to determine who is responsible
solving delegation problems
ex ante mechanisms: before the agent acts
- screening: a competition among candidates for the agent position
- selection: agents are put into a position to choose an action that reveals information about their type
ex psot mechanism: after the agents act
- police patrol system: principals directly and actively monitor the agent’s actions
- fire alarm system: principal relies on others’ information about agent’s performance
solving delegation problems
ex ante mechanisms: before the agent acts
- screening: a competition among candidates for the agent position
- selection: agents are put into a position to choose an action that reveals information about their type
ex psot mechanism: after the agents act
- police patrol system: principals directly and actively monitor the agent’s actions
- fire alarm system: principal relies on others’ information about agent’s performance
