New Zealand MPs introduce members' bills despite low approval chances, strategically linking electoral connections with signaling competence to co-partisans.
🔹 Random Private Member's Bills: Drawing lots determines which MPs propose legislation—a method previously underutilized in political studies.
📊 Survey Findings: Voters approve more of electorally vulnerable MPs whose randomly selected bills align with their interests or party loyalty.
🗳️ Incentive Analysis: Both parties and constituents reward legislative effort, creating a powerful motivation for vulnerable MPs to introduce such bills.
🔍 MP Behavior: This electoral connection serves as an unexpected pathway for MPs lacking government agenda control to signal competence despite limited influence.
| Luck of the Draw? Members' Bills & the Electoral Connection was authored by Indridi Indridason and Brian Williams. It was published by Cambridge in PSR&M in 2018. |
