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The Diminishing Value of Representing the Disadvantaged: Between Group Representation and Individual Career Paths

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  • Bailer, Stefanie
  • Breunig, Christian
  • Giger, Nathalie
  • Wüst, Andreas M.

Abstract

Does enhanced descriptive representation lead to substantive representation? Legislators who share descriptive features with disadvantaged groups do not necessarily represent their group interests. Instead, Members of Parliament (MPs) strategically choose when to engage with the policy topic of their corresponding groups. MPs represent their respective group at the beginning of their career because it confers credibility when they have no legislative track record and few opportunities to demonstrate expertise. These group-specific efforts are replaced by other legislative activities at later stages of their careers. The authors apply this theoretical expectation across four disadvantaged groups – women, migrants, low social class and the young – and thereby offer a broad perspective on descriptive representation. Their sample consists of a unique data base that combines biographical information on German MPs with topic-coded parliamentary questions for the period 1998 to 2013. The study demonstrates the diminishing value of representing the disadvantaged across different types of MPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Bailer, Stefanie & Breunig, Christian & Giger, Nathalie & Wüst, Andreas M., 2022. "The Diminishing Value of Representing the Disadvantaged: Between Group Representation and Individual Career Paths," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 535-552, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:52:y:2022:i:2:p:535-552_3
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Stockemer & Aksel Sundström, 2022. "Introducing the Worldwide Age Representation in Parliaments (WARP) data set," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(7), pages 1765-1774, December.
    2. Kurz Kira Renée & Ettensperger Felix, 2023. "Introducing a New Dataset: Age Representation in Parliaments on the Party-Level," Statistics, Politics and Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 357-374, November.

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