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A micro perspective on political competition: Electoral availability in the European electorates

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  • Wagner, Aiko

Abstract

This article develops an empirical measure of electoral availability, i.e., the micro perspective of political competition. As existing research conceptualizes political competition mainly as a macro- or party-level phenomenon, the micro perspective remains underdeveloped and, therefore, an important dimension of political competition, the availability of votes, is ignored. We introduce and discuss an individualized measure of electoral competition that is based on propensities to vote as indicators of the availability of voters to different political parties. The theoretical and empirical advantages of this measure are discussed: it is not restricted to parties’ positions but is based on multidimensional party evaluations; it does not only focus on actual behavior but instead on the potential behavior of voters; the proposed measure takes all (relevant) parties into account instead of only including the two largest parties; as a continuous index it avoids arbitrary cut-off points; and the resulting individual-level results are easily summable to obtain party- and country-level values. Finally, correlations with individual, party and party system characteristics are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Wagner, Aiko, 2017. "A micro perspective on political competition: Electoral availability in the European electorates," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 52(4), pages 502-520.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:195045
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    1. Thurner, Paul W & Eymann, Angelika, 2000. "Policy-Specific Alienation and Indifference in the Calculus of Voting: A Simultaneous Model of Party Choice and Abstention," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 102(1-2), pages 51-77, January.
    2. Kayser, Mark Andreas & Lindstädt, René, 2015. "A Cross-National Measure of Electoral Competitiveness," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 242-253, April.
    3. Costa-I-Font, Joan & Rodriguez-Oreggia, Eduardo & Lunapla, Dario, 2003. "Political Competition and Pork-Barrel Politics in the Allocation of Public Investment in Mexico," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 116(1-2), pages 185-204, July.
    4. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 135-135.
    5. Rogers, Diane Lim & Rogers, John H, 2000. "Political Competition and State Government Size: Do Tighter Elections Produce Looser Budgets?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 105(1-2), pages 1-21, October.
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    1. Krause, Werner & Giebler, Heiko, 2020. "Shifting Welfare Policy Positions: The Impact of Radical Right Populist Party Success Beyond Migration Politics," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 331-348.
    2. Cox, Gary W. & Fiva, Jon H. & Smith, Daniel M., 2020. "Measuring the Competitiveness of Elections," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 168-185, April.
    3. Giebler, Heiko & Banducci, Susan & Kritzinger, Sylvia, 2017. "New perspectives on information and electoral competition," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 52(4), pages 429-435.
    4. Wagner, Aiko & Krause, Werner, 2021. "Putting electoral competition where it belongs: comparing vote-based measures of electoral competition," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-1.
    5. Wagner, Aiko, 2022. "Party System Change in Eastern and Western Germany Between Convergence and Dissimilarity," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-1.
    6. Lichteblau, Josephine & Giebler, Heiko & Wagner, Aiko, 2020. "Do parties perceive their voter potentials correctly? Reconsidering the spatial logic of electoral competition," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 65, pages 1-1.

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