Proportional representation (PR) systems—especially closed-list PR—tend to have a higher share of women in politics than majoritarian systems, yet progress toward gender parity has been slow and uneven. This study examines whether single-occupant offices that function as career stepping stones create hidden majoritarian barriers to women's advancement.
Many European countries have introduced mandatory integration courses for refugees. Evaluations often find short-term economic gains, but evidence on long-term social and political integration is limited.
Mona Morgan-Collins asks how different ways of measuring the gender gap in mobilization change substantive conclusions about electoral reform. The study focuses on two commonly used metrics: the difference-in-proportions (the gap between women’s and men’s turnout rates) and the proportion measure (the share of voters who are women). Because scholars often use one or the other without discussing the implications, measurement choices can lead to conflicting claims about whether an institutional change helps or hurts gender equality in turnout.
New research explores how birth order influences voter turnout, a factor previously overlooked in political participation studies.
This research asks whether working in the public rather than the private sector causally affects electoral participation. Existing cross-sectional survey work is unpersuasive because of data limits and the possibility that people sort into jobs based on preferences that also drive turnout.
The conventional claim that courts only shape policy through adjudication is too narrow. The "shadow effect" describes how policy makers preemptively change rules and programs in anticipation of possible judicial review. This reform-by-fear can produce outcomes quite different from the classic U.S.-centered story about litigious interest groups pushing sympathetic officials to adjust policy.
Voting rights for immigrants are extended after three years of residency in Norway, creating a unique opportunity to examine their influence on political incorporation. This study leverages individual-level registry data and employs a regression discontinuity design (RDD) around the residency cutoff point. Analysis reveals that early voting access significantly increases subsequent electoral engagement among all immigrant groups.
This study examines the 1919 introduction of proportional representation (PR) in Norway. Using an extraordinary dataset that captures party vote shares before and after reform, it analyzes fragmentation incentives.
This study investigates how reform messages framing the welfare state affect public perceptions of future financial sustainability across Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
New findings suggest public broadcasting TV increases voter turnout in Norway.