Overview
- Editors:
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Bernard Dolez
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Université de Paris 13, Saint Denis, France
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Bernard Grofman
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School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
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Annie Laurent
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University of Lille, Lille, France
- Features contributions from the top experimental economists and political scientists specializing in French politics
- Compares French experience to other countries, including Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., and Canada
- Considers implications not only for actual voting behavior but for research methodology
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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- Bernard Dolez, Bernard Grofman, Annie Laurent
Pages 1-11
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- Michel Balinski, Rida Laraki
Pages 13-54
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- Etienne Farvaque, Hubert Jayet, Lionel Ragot
Pages 55-68
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- Antoinette Baujard, Herrade Igersheim
Pages 69-89
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- Bernard Dolez, Annie Laurent
Pages 105-121
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- Jill Wittrock, Michael S. Lewis-Beck
Pages 123-141
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Back Matter
Pages 143-173
About this book
In the modern era, representation is the hallmark of democracy, and electoral rules structure how representation works and how effectively governments perform. Moreover, of the key structural variables in constitutional design, it is the choice of electoral system that is usually the most open to change.
There are three distinctive approaches to electoral system research. One, associated largely with economics, involves the study of electoral system effects through the deductive method, using mathematical tools to derive theorems about the properties of voting methods and behaviors. A second, associated largely with political science, has a primarily empirical focus, and looks in depth at how electoral rules impact on political outcomes, through large cross-sectional or case studies. A third, and more recent tradition, inspired largely by work in experimental economics, involves experimentation, either in the form of controlled laboratory experiments or in the form of in situ field studies.
This volume employs the third approach to report on experiments that look at alternatives to the present two round (majority runoff) system used for the election of French presidents. This system is of considerable importance not just because of its use in France but also because of its wide adoption in presidential elections in new democracies, such as Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. The editors have assembled the top experimental economists and political scientists specializing in French politics to provide in-depth analysis of the double ballot electoral system, and, more broadly, of the effect of electoral rules on the number of candidates, voter strategies, and ideological choice. Ultimately, the editors and contributors argue that experimental methods have great potential to inform our understanding of institutional mechanisms in the context of voting behavior.
Editors and Affiliations
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Université de Paris 13, Saint Denis, France
Bernard Dolez
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School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
Bernard Grofman
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University of Lille, Lille, France
Annie Laurent
