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Who is recruiting our crew? Contextual determinants of MPS’ selection

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Abstract

This article analyses the contextual determinants of parliamentary elites’ methods of selection. Using survey data from a representative sample of 500 Spanish MPs, we empirically demonstrate that different district characteristics generate different ways of MPs’ selection. Specifically, parties implement more exclusive ways of candidate selection in more competitive districts and in regional chambers. On the contrary, selection processes are more participative at the national level and where electoral competition is low.

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Figure 1

Source: CIS, Study 2827

Figure 2

Source: CIS, Study 2827

Figure 3

Source: CIS, Study 2827

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the research group Democracy and Autonomies: Society and Politics (DASP, http://www.upo.es/democraciayautonomias) for the use of the database of the first survey to Spanish MPs. The authors also thank Xavier Coller, Javier Astudillo, Ignacio Lago, the editors of this journal and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Department of Political and Social Sciences, Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27, 08005, Barcelona, Spain

    Sandra Bermúdez

  2. Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Marie Curie, 1, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Guillermo Cordero

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  1. Sandra Bermúdez
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  2. Guillermo Cordero
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Correspondence to Guillermo Cordero.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 3.

Table 3 Descriptive statistics
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Bermúdez, S., Cordero, G. Who is recruiting our crew? Contextual determinants of MPS’ selection. Acta Polit 52, 265–285 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-016-0007-z

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