Ideological extremism and electoral design. Multimember versus single member districts

Relying on a formal theoretical model, Gary Cox demonstrates that single member districts induce candidates toward policy positions at their constituency median while multimember districts encourage dispersion. We test this theoretical implication in the context of the Arizona state legislature, in which each legislative district chooses one senator and two representatives in single member and multimember contests respectively. To do so, we generate W-NOMINATE estimates of scores based on roll-call data from the Arizona state legislature that are comparable across chambers (Senate and House). Our results are substantially less supportive of the formal theory than are those of prior studies.

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-008-9332-8

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Work Title Ideological extremism and electoral design. Multimember versus single member districts
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Anthony Bertelli
  2. Lilliard E. Richardson
Keyword
  1. Ideological branding
  2. Multimember districts
  3. Electoral systems
  4. Legislator ideology
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Public Choice
Publication Date June 3, 2008
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-008-9332-8
Deposited October 24, 2023

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added SSRN-id1143474-1.pdf
  • Added Creator Anthony Bertelli
  • Added Creator Lilliard E. Richardson
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Ideological branding, Multimember districts, Electoral systems, Legislator ideology
    Publication Date
    • 2008-10-01
    • 2008-06-03
  • Updated