parliamentary democracies

Question 1

motives behind party desire to coalition according to RCT (2)

Answer 1

1. spoils of office
2. concern for policy

Question 2

minimal winning coalitions

Answer 2

when fixed rewards of office are main reason why parties form a coalition

Question 3

why are there no “surplus” parties?

Answer 3

would mean spreading the prize more thinnly than necessary; every member of the coalition is “pivotal”

Question 4

what is the (main) determinant of a party’s bargaining power?

Answer 4

how many other potential coalitions could the party form

Question 5

what does bargaining power in coalition governments depend on? (2)

Answer 5

1. parties’ vote-share
2. distribution of votes & the configuration of the party system

Question 6

conclusions on policy-based coalitions (3)

Answer 6

1. there’s many policies that can defeat the median by median policy (2D space)
2. there’s multiple possible government coalitions
3. a minority administration becomes less likely

Question 7

portfolio-allocation model

Answer 7

theory that control of ministries gives extra power to agenda-setting, area expertise, and policy implementation

Question 8

what does the portfolio-allocation model theory account for? (3)

Answer 8

1. relative stability
2. existence of minority government
3. greater number of centrist parties + exclusion of extreme parties (beaten by centrist cabinet portfolios)

Question 9

transaction costs (3)

Answer 9

1. negotiating is too costly → discretion is default
2. reputation is important to bind parties to agreements
3. continuous coalition breaking and forming not good for long-term reputation

Question 10

types of governments in parliamentary majorities (4)

Answer 10

1. unified governments
2. multi-party majority
3. single-party minority
4. multi-party minority

Question 11

unified governments

Answer 11

win outright parliamentary majority

Question 12

multi-party majority

Answer 12

several parties control a majority

Question 13

single-party minority

Answer 13

one party receives all cabinet portfolios but has <50% of seats

Question 14

multi-party minority

Answer 14

coalition government whose members control less than 50% of seats (survive because they split opposition)

Question 15

a policy-seeking party will…?

Answer 15

implement its ideal policy in the jurisdictions if given authority to do so

Question 16

why is there no equilibrium in policies?

Answer 16

assumption here is that parliament selects governments, not policies