Why so many representatives? Extending the cube root law to local assemblies

Benoît Le Maux () and Sonia Paty
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Benoît Le Maux: CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: We investigate the impact of territorial fragmentation on political representation by apply- ing Taagepera's cube root law to subnational governments. Our model reveals that the total number of local representatives is more elastic to changes in the number of jurisdictions (elasticity e = 2∕3 ) than to variations in population size ( e = 1∕3 ), a relationship we refer to as the law of 2/3. As a result, fragmented areas experience amplified political representa- tion. We show that the cube root law holds at the municipal level across 13 countries, albeit imperfectly. Empirical evidence from French municipalities further supports the law of 2/3.

Keywords: Representative democracy; Decentralization; Local public sector; Cube root law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in Public Choice, inPress, ⟨10.1007/s11127-025-01304-2⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Why so many representatives? Extending the cube root law to local assemblies (2025)
Working Paper: Why So Many Representatives? Extending the Cube Root Law to Local Assemblies (2024)
Working Paper: Why So Many Representatives? Extending the Cube Root Law to Local Assemblies (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05155889

DOI: 10.1007/s11127-025-01304-2

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