Abstract:In parliamentary systems of government, dyadic representation between MP and geographical constituency is considered to be of secondary importance and is typically understood as work related to particularized issues (e.g., constituency service, "pork" allocation and local matters). This paper argues that personal representation need not be particularistic. It may also come in the form of attention to national policy for local reasons, when issue salience varies across geographical constituencies due to the num… Show more
“…District‐specific problem pressure, measured as variation in crime and unemployment statistics, is associated with a greater propensity of the MP to focus on the issue through sponsored parliamentary questions. This is an interesting finding that contributes new knowledge to the ongoing debate on the factors accounting for the representative relationship between MPs and constituents, particularly with regard to the impact of district‐level characteristics (Däubler ). Furthermore, we detect evidence of this constituency link in a least‐likely country case, Portugal, which leads us to expect stronger or, at least, similar patterns in political systems using preferential electoral systems.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 69%
“…As Däubler eloquently puts it:‘MPs may want to work especially on issues important to the party constituency because: (1) they find these issues important per se; (2) they are in closer contact with party constituents than with other parts of the citizenry; (3) the candidate selectorate strongly cares about these matters; or (4) citizens may vote for the party or the candidate as a reward for tackling those issues. (Däubler : 4).…”
Section: Geographic Representation As Signalling Behaviour Through Pamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While existing research shows parliamentary questions are often used to signal efforts aimed at representing geographic constituencies, most factors explaining the probability of engaging in such behaviour deal with the electoral system and/or strategic and electoral considerations (those related with reasons 3 and 4 Däubler () uses to explain the MPs’ focus), leaving the role of personal sources in this process largely ignored (Däubler’s reasons 1 and 2, concerning interest and proximity). The existing literature provides direct and indirect support for both factors, which may moderate the link between constituency characteristics and issue focus of parliamentary questions.…”
Section: Geographic Representation As Signalling Behaviour Through Pamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Here, the parties dominate political life and the links between MPs and their constituents are very weak. Nevertheless, the results of some important research has shown that even in party‐dominated systems, MPs have some freedom of action from their parties (Leston‐Bandeira ) and can engage in geographic representation without compromising party unity (Däubler ; Fernandes et al ; Louwerse and Otjes ; Russo ; Zittel et al ).…”
This article asks whether and why, in a system lacking electoral incentives to cultivate personal votes, MPs might choose to signal to geographic constituents. It explores this question by analysing the number of written parliamentary questions submitted to the Portuguese parliament on two issues – unemployment and crime – between 2009 and 2015, and asking if MPs are more inclined to table questions on specific issues when their districts suffer particularly from related problems. The article finds evidence that constituency‐level problem pressure does matter for the signalling activities of MPs, although policy specialization remains the main driver of their issue emphasis. This finding contributes new knowledge to the ongoing debate on the factors accounting for the representative relationship between MPs and constituents, by drawing attention to the importance of district‐level problem pressure as one of the drivers of issue sponsorship in parliament.
“…District‐specific problem pressure, measured as variation in crime and unemployment statistics, is associated with a greater propensity of the MP to focus on the issue through sponsored parliamentary questions. This is an interesting finding that contributes new knowledge to the ongoing debate on the factors accounting for the representative relationship between MPs and constituents, particularly with regard to the impact of district‐level characteristics (Däubler ). Furthermore, we detect evidence of this constituency link in a least‐likely country case, Portugal, which leads us to expect stronger or, at least, similar patterns in political systems using preferential electoral systems.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 69%
“…As Däubler eloquently puts it:‘MPs may want to work especially on issues important to the party constituency because: (1) they find these issues important per se; (2) they are in closer contact with party constituents than with other parts of the citizenry; (3) the candidate selectorate strongly cares about these matters; or (4) citizens may vote for the party or the candidate as a reward for tackling those issues. (Däubler : 4).…”
Section: Geographic Representation As Signalling Behaviour Through Pamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While existing research shows parliamentary questions are often used to signal efforts aimed at representing geographic constituencies, most factors explaining the probability of engaging in such behaviour deal with the electoral system and/or strategic and electoral considerations (those related with reasons 3 and 4 Däubler () uses to explain the MPs’ focus), leaving the role of personal sources in this process largely ignored (Däubler’s reasons 1 and 2, concerning interest and proximity). The existing literature provides direct and indirect support for both factors, which may moderate the link between constituency characteristics and issue focus of parliamentary questions.…”
Section: Geographic Representation As Signalling Behaviour Through Pamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Here, the parties dominate political life and the links between MPs and their constituents are very weak. Nevertheless, the results of some important research has shown that even in party‐dominated systems, MPs have some freedom of action from their parties (Leston‐Bandeira ) and can engage in geographic representation without compromising party unity (Däubler ; Fernandes et al ; Louwerse and Otjes ; Russo ; Zittel et al ).…”
This article asks whether and why, in a system lacking electoral incentives to cultivate personal votes, MPs might choose to signal to geographic constituents. It explores this question by analysing the number of written parliamentary questions submitted to the Portuguese parliament on two issues – unemployment and crime – between 2009 and 2015, and asking if MPs are more inclined to table questions on specific issues when their districts suffer particularly from related problems. The article finds evidence that constituency‐level problem pressure does matter for the signalling activities of MPs, although policy specialization remains the main driver of their issue emphasis. This finding contributes new knowledge to the ongoing debate on the factors accounting for the representative relationship between MPs and constituents, by drawing attention to the importance of district‐level problem pressure as one of the drivers of issue sponsorship in parliament.
“…The literature highlights various factors explaining why MPs dedicate a significant amount of attention to the interests of their district. Electoral pressure is a common explanation highlighted in the literature (Blidook and Kerby, 2011;Däubler, 2020;Dropp and Peskowitz, 2012). However, the role of electoral incentives has been challenged in the recent literature (Borghetto et al, 2020;Papp, 2020).…”
There is growing interest in personal representation and policy responsiveness in the European literature. The current scholarship mainly focuses on strong legislatures. This article aims to contribute to the discussion about policy responsiveness by investigating the least likely case, France. It asks whether French MPs engage in policy responsiveness, and if they do, how responsiveness interacts with party agenda and electoral vulnerability. Drawing on written parliamentary questions asked by French MPs from 1997 to 2007 ( N = 1172), the article shows that MPs’ behaviour is strongly affected by their district features. Moreover, the article shows that party agenda conditions the impact of district features. MPs are more likely to engage in policy responsiveness when the issue is also essential for the party. In other words, policy responsiveness is not independent of the party agenda. The article thus contributes to a better understanding of the personalisation of political representation and its relationship with political parties.
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