The Effects of Import Shocks, Electoral Institutions, and Radical Party Competition on Legislator Ideology: Evidence from France

Anna M. Meyerrose, Sara Watson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Across advanced industrialized democracies, the political centre is collapsing as politicians on the far right and far left enjoy increasing electoral success. Recent research links import shocks to voter support for far-right parties. However, we know comparatively less about how these shocks impact individual legislator ideology, especially that of mainstream politicians. Do import shocks drive economic or cultural ideological shifts among mainstream legislators? If so, to what extent do local competitive contexts shape these shifts? Using a dataset of French Senate roll call votes, we find that localized increases in import exposure moves elite ideology to the left economically; this is magnified in departments with majoritarian electoral systems. We show that legislators shift their cultural positions in response to import shocks, but only when faced with extremist political competitors focused on cultural issues. Our results suggest the value of attending to how political and economic geography intersect to shape elite policy positions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)547-572
Number of pages26
JournalBritish Journal of Political Science
Volume54
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2024

Keywords

  • electoral competition
  • import shocks
  • legislator ideology
  • radical left
  • radical right

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Political Science and International Relations

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