Using MP statements to explain voting behaviour in the German Bundestag

Using MP statements to explain voting behaviour in the German Bundestag : An individual level test of the Competing Principals Theory

Why do members of parliament (MPs) vote against the party line? Recent explanations of party unity focus on MPs crosspressured between the demands of competing principals such as their party and local constituencies. This article tests key claims of the Competing Principals Theory on the level of individual deputies. It relies on public statements in which MPs explain their voting behaviour. Th...

The News Media and Economic Voting in the 1998 German Bundestag Election

This study investigates the role of the news media in the economic voting process during the 1998 German Bundestag Election, by exploring how exposure to economic news in the mass media affects economic evaluations. The empirical results are based on a content analysis of a range of German news media outlets and on survey data from a two-wave panel survey. News media outlets differed noticeably...

Making statements and approval voting

We assume that people have a need to make statements, and construct a model in which this need is the sole determinant of voting behavior. In this model, an individual selects a ballot that makes as close a statement as possible to her ideal point, where abstaining from voting is a possible (null) statement. We show that in such a model, a political system that adopts approval voting may be exp...

Using participant or non-participant observation to explain information behaviour

The aim of the paper is to provide guidance on conducting participant and non-participant observation studies of information behaviour. Examines lessons learned during nonparticipant observation of hospital pharmacists, and participant observation with dependent older people living in their own homes. Describes the methods used in both studies, and discusses the ethical issues involved in gaini...

Ranking units in DEA by using the voting system