ABSTRACT

Do macro-economic conditions affect legislators’ representative focus? This article examines this novel predictor by analysing an original dataset of parliamentary questions from the Greek parliament. Greece is a very informative case since not only is it one of the countries most severely hit by the Eurozone Crisis but it also offers an institutional setting that provides plenty of incentives to re-election-seeking actors for constituency-focused representative work. The data utilised covers an extended period of six Greek legislatures and over 12,000 parliamentary current questions asked pre, during and post-crisis between 2006 and 2019. The stand-alone effect of macro-economic conditions as well as its interaction with known predictors like the legislators’ vulnerability is tested. Findings provide evidence that better national economic performance conditions increase the likelihood that MPs with table current questions about their constituency, although other traditional factors like electoral vulnerability remain important.

摘要

宏观经济状况会影响立法者的代表性焦点吗？本文通过分析希腊议会的议会问题原始数据集来研究这个新颖的预测器。希腊是一个信息丰富的案例，因为它不仅是受欧元区危机打击最严重的国家之一，而且还提供了一种制度环境，为寻求连任的行动者提供大量激励，以开展以选区为中心的代表工作。使用的数据涵盖了 2006 年至 2019 年危机前、危机期间和危机后 6 个希腊立法机构的较长时期和超过 12,000 个议会当前问题。宏观经济状况的独立影响及其与已知预测因素的相互作用，例如立法者的脆弱性受到考验。