Opportunists or Patriots? Financial Incentives, the “New Party” and the Act of Union (1707)

• In Event: Historical Dynamics of Party Development & Politics

Brief Overview

I construct a novel historical data set to study the 1704-1707 Scottish Parliament. I find that politicians that would personally profit from Union with England were both more likely to join the “New Party” and more likely to vote for Union.

Author

• Mitchell Harvey, Stanford University