Comparative Studies of Elite Political Behavior

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In the past decade, surveys of elected politicians and other political elites have become increasingly prominent in the study of political behaviour and representation. These surveys have allowed political scientists to clarify important questions, including how elected politicians differ from their constituents, how well politicians understand and represent their constituents’ preferences, and how politicians respond to new information about the citizens they represent. In this panel, authors will report recent results from some of the largest surveys of active elected officials yet undertaken anywhere in the world. Several papers rely on data from POLPOP-II, a thirteen-country study led by Stefaan Walgrave (University of Antwerp) of more than 1,000 politicians in 13 countries. Others use data from EPLO, a survey of thousands of local politicians in eight countries led by Miguel Pereira (LSE) and Natalie Geiger. The papers use these elite data to explore politicians’ theories of democracy, their attitudes toward inequality, and their receptiveness to evidence-based policy appeals.

Sub Unit

• Division 22: Legislative Studies

Individual Presentations

• Politicians Citizens’ Theories of Democracy: A 13-Country Study - Jack Lucas, University of Calgary; Lior Sheffer, Tel Aviv University; Peter Loewen, University of Toronto

• Citizens and Politicians’ Perceptions of Power and Deservingness of Needy Groups - Christian Breunig, University of Konstanz

• Beliefs in Merit among Politicians and Consequences for Redistributive Attitudes - Maj-Britt Sterba, University of Konstanz

• How Do Officials Evaluate Policy Evidence? A Survey of 3,000 Politicians - Miguel M. Pereira, London School of Economics

• Ministerial Wishlist and Coalition Bargaining: Portfolio Allocation in Brazil - Fernando Meireles, IESP-UERJ; Magna Inácio, Federal University of Minas Gerais; Rosiene de Andrade, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Chair

• Peter Loewen University of Toronto

Discussant

• Joshua D. Kertzer Harvard University