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Policy representation by German parties at the 2017 federal election

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  • Tangian, Andranik S.

Abstract

The paper estimates the policy representation of 34 German parties that participate in the 2017 Bundestag (federal) election. For this purpose, the party positions on 31 topical issues are compared with the results of recent public opinion polls. Then we construct the party indices of popularity (the average percentage of the population represented) and universality (frequency in representing a majority). We find that the currently governing conservative union CDU/CSU and the social-democratic SPD are ranked only 27th and 22nd, respectively, being least representative among the four parties in the 2013 Bundestag. The most representative Bundestag faction is the GRÜNE - the smallest one. The current Bundestag representativeness is about 50%, as if the correspondence with the electorate's preference on every policy issue is being decided by tossing a coin, meaning that the 2013 Bundestag is practically unrelated to public opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Tangian, Andranik S., 2017. "Policy representation by German parties at the 2017 federal election," Working Paper Series in Economics 107, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Department of Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:kitwps:107
    DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000075518
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    policy representation; representative democracy; direct democracy; elections; coalitions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations

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