Political Dynasties and the Incumbency Advantage in Party - Centered Environments ∗

What explains the perpetuation of political dynasties in democracies? A handful of recent investigations using data from the United States and other candidatecentered electoral environments have pointed to a causal effect of incumbency on dynasty formation. However, dynasties exist in party-centered environments as well—and, importantly, the causal mechanisms underlying their formation may differ. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the incumbency advantage and dynasties in the closed-list proportional representation electoral system of Norway using candidate-level data from 1945-2013. A regression discontinuity design reveals that the incumbency advantage exists even in this party-centered environment. However, although we document a share of dynasties (7 percent) that is comparable to the United States, we find no evidence that either incumbency or length of tenure are important to their formation. This finding suggests some form of internal party organizational network as a mechanism underlying dynastic politics that operates beyond the incumbency advantage. Total words: 9,250 (excluding appendix)