Electoral rules and new parties: evidence from a quasi‐experimental design

Electoral rules are a crucial institutional factor shaping the entry and success of new parties. However, testing how they affect voting behavior is problematic when using observational data in cross-national studies. As district magnitude is usually correlated with politically salient features affe...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Lago Peñas, Ignacio
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/47974
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/47974
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.623709
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:District magnitude
Electoral system
Quasi-experimental design
New parties
Viability
Descrição
Resumo:Electoral rules are a crucial institutional factor shaping the entry and success of new parties. However, testing how they affect voting behavior is problematic when using observational data in cross-national studies. As district magnitude is usually correlated with politically salient features affecting the likelihood of voting for new (and small) parties, the latent support of small parties differs across electoral systems. Using a quasi-experimental design in Spain focused on the district viability of a new party, Vox, in two elections held within 196 days, I provide a more robust estimate of the impact of electoral systems on the success of new parties. Strong evidence that the electoral system makes a difference for new parties has been identified: strategic considerations found in the districts where Vox was not successful prevented a significant number of voters from supporting the party.