Electoral Rules and Forms of Government

Flashcards covering vocabulary related to electoral systems, forms of government, and their economic effects.

Economic Policy Benefits

Economic policy can provide benefits to many citizens through broad programs, a narrow group of citizens through targeted programs, or politicians through rents.

Electoral Rule Design

An electoral rule has to translate voters’ preferences into an elected body and make politicians accountable to voters.

Representation vs. Accountability

Representation aims to mirror voters' preferences in the elected body, while accountability aims to make politicians responsible to voters.

District Magnitude

The number of legislators acquiring a seat in a typical voting district.

Electoral Formula

How votes are translated into seats (plurality rule vs. PR).

Ballot Structure

How citizens cast their vote (different individual candidates or different party lists).

Majoritarian Elections

Small single-member districts, plurality rule and voting on individual candidates.

Proportional Elections

Large multi-member districts, proportional representations and voting on party lists.

Majoritarian Elections: Spending

Under majoritarian elections, less spending on broad programs results and more spending on narrow programs results.

Majoritarian Elections: Government Size

Under majoritarian elections, expect smaller governments with smaller overall spending and taxes.

Majoritarian Elections: Rent Extraction

With small districts, an honest candidate is not always available, and dishonest candidates have a high chance of being re-elected.

Electoral Cycles in Majoritarian Systems

Accountability is greater under majoritarian elections, giving politicians stronger incentives to please voters before elections.

Separation of Powers

Is there an effective separation of powers, or is there a single office vested with several different powers?

Confidence Requirements

Is the executive subject to continued support from the majority of the legislative assembly?

Presidential Regime

Characterized by a directly and popularly elected president.

Parliamentary Regime

The executive is an expression of the legislative – the majority party or a coalition of parties selects the prime minister.

Presidential vs. Parliamentary: Separation of Powers

Presidential regimes have a stronger separation of powers, while parliamentary regimes concentrate powers in the government.

Presidential vs. Parliamentary: Confidence Requirement

Presidential regimes lack a confidence requirement, while parliamentary regimes require continuous support from the legislature.

Presidential vs. Parliamentary: Spending Programs

Presidential regimes are associated with more targeted programs, while parliamentary regimes target broad programs.

Presidential Systems: Government Size

Presidential systems are associated with smaller governments.

Presidential Systems: Rent Extraction

Presidential systems are associated with less rent extraction due to checks and balances.

Size of Government (Measurement)

Size of government is measured by central government spending and revenue as a percentage of GDP (CGEXP and CGREV).

Composition of Government (Measurement)

Welfare state programs are measured by social security and welfare spending by central government as a percentage of GDP (SSW).

Rent Extraction/Corruption (Measurement)

Corruption Perceptions Index as seen by business people, risk analysts and the general public (CPI9500).

Electoral Rules (MAJ=1)

Years when a country elected its lower house through plurality rule is coded MAJ=1.

District Magnitude (MAGN)

Districts/Seats; average size of voting districts in terms of the number of seats or districts – it ranges 0-1.

Individual Voting (PIND)

1-(List/Seats); proportion of legislators elected via a vote on individuals – it ranges 0-1.

Forms of Government (PRES=1)

Classification of constitutions into presidential and parliamentary regimes based on the presence of a confidence requirement; if absent, then PRES=1 (presidential).

LYP

Logarithm of each country’s real per capital income (captures the level of economic development).

GASTIL

Indicator capturing the quality of democratic institutions – it ranges 1-7, with higher values indicating worse democracies.

ELEX

Dummy variable for executive elections, equal to 1 in a year when the executive is elected, 0 otherwise.

YGAP

Deviation of real GDP from its trend value.

POLITY GT

Alternative score for democracy, re-scaled with the same units as GASTIL (higher values denote worse democracies).