Perrson and Tabellini (2003a) Flashcards
Theoretical memorisation.
List the four main Electoral Rules outlined in Perrson and Tabellini (2003a).
District Magnitude, Electoral Formula, Ballot Structure, and Form of Government.
District Magnitude: briefly describe the effect of larger districts.
Larger districts diffuse electoral competition, this induces parties to seek support from broad coalitions in the population: they seek to please the many in order to secure a greater proportion of the vote.
District Magnitude: briefly describe the effect of smaller districts.
Where districts are small and non-homogenous in the composition of voters, each party will typically have a few ‘safe’ districts. The electoral competition is therefore focussed on the pivotal districts that could swing a vote.
Electoral Formula: briefly describe Majoritarian (Plurality) rule.
Majoritarian rule associated with the winner-takes-all assumption. Majoritarian rule is associated with fewer public goods and narrower policy spending.
Electoral Formula: briefly describe Proportional rule.
Both candidates aim to maximise vote share via the Social Welfare Function. Proportional rule is associated with more public goods and broad policy spending.
Ballot Structure: what effect does the individual candidate voting system have on politician performance?
Politicians face less incentive to extract rents as their re-election probability is based purely on each individual’s perception of the competence.
Summarise the empirical predictions of Perrson and Tabellini (2003a).
On the composition of spending: large districts and Proportional rule both lead to spending on broad programs. Small districts and Majoritarian rule is the opposite.
Form of Government: briefly describe Presidential rule.
A strong separation of power but no confidence requirement.
Form of Government: briefly describe Parliamentary rule.
Less separation of power than Presidential regimes yet a strong confidence requirement. This means that an elected official must maintain a degree of competence in office or risk facing the boot.
Ballot Structure: what effect does the party list voting system have on politician performance?
Politicians face greater incentives to extract rents as their chance of re-election is not purely based on their competence. Politicians near the top and bottom of the list have a smaller weight on their competence than those near the middle.
