Transparency in parliamentary voting

Christine Benesch (), Monika Bütler () and Katharina Hofer

Journal of Public Economics, 2018, vol. 163, issue C, 60-76

Abstract: How does transparency affect voting behavior? To answer this question we exploit a switch from a show of hands to electronic voting in the Upper House of the Swiss Parliament. The change, which took place halfway through the 2011–2015 legislative period, also brought about the online publication of individual voting records. Using the Lower House as a control group, we compare individual voting decisions in a set of identical votes in both chambers. This unique framework makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of increased transparency on legislators' choices.

Keywords: Voting; Parliament; Transparency; Parties; Party discipline (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D80 L88 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Transparency in Parliamentary Voting (2016)
Working Paper: Transparency in Parliamentary Voting (2015)
Working Paper: Transparency in Parliamentary Voting (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:163:y:2018:i:c:p:60-76

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.04.005

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