Do different parties respond to different problems? A comparative study of parliamentary questions across multiple countries

TY - JOUR

T1 - Do different parties respond to different problems? A comparative study of parliamentary questions across multiple countries

AU - Bevan, Shaun

AU - Borghetto, Enrico

AU - Seeberg, Henrik

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - The identification of problem information is an important driver of political attention in parliament. This is widely acknowledged in the literature on party competition but there has been surprisingly little empirical research on the extent and when it matters. By relying on an extensive cross-country data set matching data on the policy content of parliamentary oral questions from ten European parliamentary democracies with well-established problem indicators (economy, immigration, and terrorism), this study sets out to answer these important questions. Our time series analysis reveals that not all problem indicators drive political attention in parliament to the same extent and that responsiveness varies based on differences in how government and opposition parties strategically take up problems as well as a partisan logic between left and right parties. While real world problem indicators can be a strong driver of parliamentary attention, that drive is still filtered through political and institutional processes.

AB - The identification of problem information is an important driver of political attention in parliament. This is widely acknowledged in the literature on party competition but there has been surprisingly little empirical research on the extent and when it matters. By relying on an extensive cross-country data set matching data on the policy content of parliamentary oral questions from ten European parliamentary democracies with well-established problem indicators (economy, immigration, and terrorism), this study sets out to answer these important questions. Our time series analysis reveals that not all problem indicators drive political attention in parliament to the same extent and that responsiveness varies based on differences in how government and opposition parties strategically take up problems as well as a partisan logic between left and right parties. While real world problem indicators can be a strong driver of parliamentary attention, that drive is still filtered through political and institutional processes.

KW - government and opposition

KW - parliaments

KW - political parties

KW - problem status

KW - Public policy

KW - responsiveness

U2 - 10.1080/13501763.2023.2193583

DO - 10.1080/13501763.2023.2193583

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85152261959

SN - 1350-1763

VL - 31

SP - 1856

EP - 1878

JO - Journal of European Public Policy

JF - Journal of European Public Policy

IS - 7

ER -