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Political economics

Political economics. Comparative Politics and the Welfare State Lectures 4-5 AY 2009-2010 Paolo Graziano. Executive-Legislative Relations. where is power? different types of government… but also different types of power relations. ‘democratic’ need for a balance of power

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Political economics

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  1. Political economics Comparative Politics and the Welfare State Lectures 4-5 AY 2009-2010 Paolo Graziano

  2. Executive-Legislative Relations • where is power? • different types of government… • but also different types of power relations. • ‘democratic’ need for a balance of power • presidential system • parliamentary system • semipresidential system • prime ministership

  3. Presidential system • head of government is elected for a predefined period and usually cannot be forced to resign by a vote of no confidence • presidents are directly elected • one-person, noncollegial executives • ex: US, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela

  4. Parliamentary system • head of government is responsible to the legislature (i.e. dependent on the legislature’s confidence and can be dismissed by a legislative vote of no confidence or censure) • prime ministers are selected by legislatures • collective or collegial executives • ex: United Kingdom, Germany

  5. Semipresidential system • mix of both presidential and parliamentary features • president directly elected… • … but with power to be shared with the prime minister… • … appointed by the president by responsible to the legislature • possible ‘cohabitation’ • ex: France, Ireland, Finland, Austria, Iceland, Portugal

  6. Prime ministership • prime minister is responsible to the legislature but... • …directly elected and not selected by the legislature (possible ‘mutual dismissal’) • formally collegial executives, but often non collegial executive (prime minister predominance) • ex: Israel (1996-2001)

  7. Executive dominance I • what is the indicator of executive dominance? • cabinet durability: a long-lasting cabinet is likely to be dominant… • … and able to make sound decisions, but… • … policy adoption differs from policy implementation. • relevance of top bureaucrats with respect to the overall performance of democracies.

  8. Executive dominance II • how can we measure executive dominance? • average cabinet I: cabinet ends with new elections, new prime minister, new party composition • average cabinet II: party composition • index of executive dominance: mean of measures I and II • United States vs United Kingdom

  9. Electoral systems • electoral formula: majority vs. proportional system • district magnitude: single-member vs. plurality districts • electoral threshold • Presidential/legislative elections

  10. Disproportionality • aggregate vote-seat share deviations • does proportionality mean ‘more’ democratic? • links between electoral and party systems: • all electoral systems tend to yield disproportional results • all electoral systems reduce electoral parties • all electoral systems can create a parliamentary majority for parties non supported by a majority of votes

  11. Interest groups • pluralism vs. corporatism • meanings of corporatism: • groups are organized into national, specialized, hierarchical, and monopolistic peak organizations • incorporation of interest groups into the policy formation

  12. Key elements of corporatism • it assures concertation • i.e regular consultation by the leaders of peak organizations with each other and with the government • that arrives at comprehensive binding agreements (tripartite pacts) • IG are • large in size and small in number • coordinated into national peak organizations

  13. Patterns of democracy: a critique • challenging in its research design and useful as a overall introduction to key political concepts but: • very (too?) ambitious, but not always very accurate (ex: Eu compared to other countries) • conceptual ambiguities (ex: plural vs. non plural societies…) • inadequacy of analytical criteria (es: independence Central Bank in the Federal-Unitary dimension)

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