Calling It Quits: Legislative Retirements in Comparative Perspective

Raymond, Christopher; Overby, L. Marvin

doi:10.1177/0032321719865111

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…We also include the age of a parliamentarian at the time of exit to account for less interest in attractive post-parliamentary employment due to age-related reasons. This variable provides a viable alternative to the 'retirement' variable from the career literature (Frantzich, 1978;Theriault, 1998;Raymond et al, 2016). Namely, voluntary retirement is an unreliable measure, but age at exit is not.…”

Section: Explaining Post-parliamentary Employment: the Independent Vamentioning

confidence: 99%

The winners of legislative mandate: An analysis of post‐parliamentary career positions in Germany and the Netherlands

Claessen

Bailer

Turner‐Zwinkels

2020

European J Political Res

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Little is known about the careers of parliamentarians after they leave parliament. We analyse the post‐parliamentary careers of German and Dutch parliamentarians over the last 20 years and document the presence of a persistent and substantial gender gap. This gap exists regardless of party, country or political position and persists even when the status of the pre‐parliamentary profession and achievement within parliament are controlled for. Aside from demonstrating our findings, we offer new insights into possible explanations for the dynamics behind them. Additionally, we show that parliament only serves as a stepping stone for a more successful career for a relatively small share of politicians: only 32 per cent of MPs obtain more attractive positions in the public or private sector after their legislative service.

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Section: Explaining Post-parliamentary Employment: the Independent Vamentioning

confidence: 99%

The winners of legislative mandate: An analysis of post‐parliamentary career positions in Germany and the Netherlands

Claessen

Bailer

Turner‐Zwinkels

2020

European J Political Res

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“…For the limited effects of these variables in congressional career decisions, see Masthay and Overby (2017). For comparative examples, see Kerby and Blidook (2011), Raymond and Overby (2020), and Yildirim and Overby (2019). 15.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Congressional Career Decisions in the 2018 Congressional Midterm Elections

Brant

Overby

2021

Congress & the Presidency

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Although we prefer to think of congressional turnover as being electorally driven and based on the choices of voters, in recent decades retirements/resignations have been a larger contributor to change in the composition of both chambers of Congress than have electoral defeats of incumbents. In this article, we consider the impact of retirements (and other forms of non-electoral exits) on the 2018 congressional midterms, focusing primarily on the House of Representatives. After reviewing the relevant (and limited) literature, we provide a descriptive overview of congressional retirements (including the unusual retirement of a comparatively young speaker of the House and almost two dozen GOP committee and subcommittee chairs) then examine the extent of voluntary retirements in this electoral cycle against historical patterns, and explore the effects of different retirements (i.e., progressive ambition versus retirement from public life). Using multivariate models, we examine which factors correlate significantly with retirement decisions, test for a partisan differential in retirement rates, and compare the rates at which the parties are capable of replacing retirees with co-partisans. Our analysis allows us to consider the ongoing importance of members' career decisions for the composition of and the partisan balance of power in the U. S. Congress. Within the context of 2018 specifically, these career decisions had substantial implications for partisan control of the House, experience and leadership within the House Republican conference, and entrance of female members into Congress and toward higher office.

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“…Ideology also comes into play. Indeed, several American studies (Murakami, 2009; Livingston and Sally Friedman, 1993; Frantzich, 1978), but also a recent one which focuses on Canada and the United Kingdom (Raymond and Overby, 2019), demonstrate that Conservatives would be more inclined to retire than their more progressive counterparts. The literature also mentions the impact of being from a minor party, mostly in United States (Bernstein and Wolak 2002; Box-Steffensmeier and Jones 1997; Brace 1985; Gilmour and Rothstein 1993; Livingston and Friedman 1993; Mezey, 1970; see also this recent research on Turkey: Yildirim and Overby (2019)).…”

Section: Why Do Mps Leave Politics?mentioning

confidence: 99%

An election too far: Why do MPs leave politics before an election?

et al. 2023

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Why are members of parliament retiring? In most parliamentary systems, a substantial number of MPs decide, before every election, not to run again. Though the decision to leave politics is essentially personal, a broader look at a large sample of MPs can reveal the existence of structural factors such as an uneven playing field or other sources of discrimination that could explain why certain individuals stay while others leave. A survey of the current literature indicates that the empirical work on this topic is almost exclusively focused on the US Congress. There is thus a need to conduct more research in other contexts to generate a more general explanation of why MPs leave politics on their own terms. The current literature suggests that the decision to leave could be explained by a complex combination of variables that are personal, partisan, and contextual. The purpose of this article is to better understand why sitting MPs decide not to run for re-election in parliamentary systems, focusing on three Westminster systems: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand since 1945. Various factors play a role, but our results suggest that as time passes, parliamentarians simply become less prone to seeking reelection.

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Calling It Quits: Legislative Retirements in Comparative Perspective

Cited by 7 publications

References 45 publications

The winners of legislative mandate: An analysis of post‐parliamentary career positions in Germany and the Netherlands

The winners of legislative mandate: An analysis of post‐parliamentary career positions in Germany and the Netherlands

Congressional Career Decisions in the 2018 Congressional Midterm Elections

An election too far: Why do MPs leave politics before an election?

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