Advances in the Spatial Theory of Voting

Advances in the Spatial Theory of Voting
Author: James M. Enelow
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 1990-06-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521352840

This volume brings together eight original essays designed to provide an overview of developments in spatial voting theory in the past ten years. The topics covered are: spatial competition with possible entry by new candidates; the "heresthetical" manipulation of vote outcomes; candidates with policy preferences; experimental testing of spatial models; probabilistic voting; voting on alternatives with predictive power; elections with more than two candidates under different election systems; and agenda-setting behavior in voting. Leading scholars in these areas summarize the major results of their own and other's work, providing self-contained discussions that will apprise readers of important recent advances.

The Spatial Theory of Voting

The Spatial Theory of Voting
Author: James M. Enelow
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1984-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780521275156

This book provides an introduction to an important approach to the study of voting and elections: the spatial theory of voting. In contrast to the social-psychological approach to studying voting behaviour, the spatial theory of voting is premised on the idea of self-interested choice. Voters cast votes on the basis of their evaluation of the candidates or policy alternatives competing for their vote. Candidates fashion their appeals to the voters in an effort to win votes. The spatial theory provides explicit definitions for these behavioural assumptions to determines the form that self-interested behaviour will take. The consequences of this behaviour for the type of candidate or policy that voters will select is the major focus of the theory. There is a twofold purpose to this work. The first is to provide an elementary but rigourous introduction to an important body of political science research. The second is to design and test a spatial theory of elections that provides insights into the nature of election contests. The book will appeal to a wide audience, since the mathematics is kept to an accessible level.

A Unified Theory of Voting

A Unified Theory of Voting
Author: Samuel Merrill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 1999-09-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780521665490

Professors Merrill and Grofman develop a unified model that incorporates voter motivations and assesses its empirical predictions--for both voter choice and candidate strategy--in the United States, Norway, and France. The analyses show that a combination of proximity, direction, discounting, and party ID are compatible with the mildly but not extremely divergent policies that are characteristic of many two-party and multiparty electorates. All of these motivations are necessary to understand the linkage between candidate issue positions and voter preferences.

Revitalizing Electoral Geography

Revitalizing Electoral Geography
Author: Jonathan Leib
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2016-04-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1317063457

Electoral Geography, the analysis of spatial patterns of voting, is undergoing a renaissance with new methodological advances, theoretical shifts and changes in the political landscape. Integrating new conceptual approaches with a broad array of case studies from the USA, Europe and Asia, this volume examines key questions in electoral geography: How has electoral geography changed since the 1980s when the last wave of works in this sub discipline appeared? In what ways does contemporary scholarship in social theory inform the analysis of elections and their spatial patterns? How has electoral geography been reconfigured by social and technological changes and those that shape the voting process itself? How can the comparative analysis of elections inform the field? In addressing these issues, the volume moves electoral geography beyond its traditional, empiricist focus on the United States to engage with contemporary theoretical developments and to outline the myriad theoretical, conceptual and methodological perspectives and applications that together are ushering in electoral geography's revitalization. The result is a broader, comparative analysis of how elections reflect and in turn shape social and spatial relations.

Ideology and Spatial Voting in American Elections

Ideology and Spatial Voting in American Elections
Author: Stephen A. Jessee
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2012-06-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1139537024

Ideology and Spatial Voting in American Elections addresses two core issues related to the foundations of democratic governance: how the political views of Americans are structured and how citizens' voting decisions relate to their ideological proximity to the candidates. Focusing on testing the assumptions and implications of spatial voting, this book connects the theory with empirical analysis of voter preferences and behavior, showing Americans cast their ballots largely in accordance with spatial voting theory. Stephen A. Jessee's research shows voters possess meaningful ideologies that structure their policy beliefs, moderated by partisanship and differing levels of political information. Jessee finds that while voters with lower levels of political information are more influenced by partisanship, independents and better informed partisans are able to form reasonably accurate perceptions of candidates' ideologies. His findings should reaffirm citizens' faith in the broad functioning of democratic elections.

Voters and Voting

Voters and Voting
Author: Jocelyn A J Evans
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2003-12-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1446227804

′This clear and comprehensive textbook will be invaluable for undergraduate and graduate courses on elections and voting behaviour. Complex theoretical and statistical ideas are explained lucidly and effectively - no mean achievement′ - Representation ′Voters and Voting fills a yawning gap in the study of elections and voting behaviour. No other book today matches the breadth and depth of coverage provided by Jocelyn Evans. This book is destined to become a staple in university courses on elections, parties and political methodology. It will also be a well-thumbed addition to scholars′ personal libraries′ - David M Farrell, The University of Manchester This accessible textbook provides a comprehensive introduction and guide to theories of voting and electoral behaviour. The text introduces the concept of voting and traces the historical origins and development of voting theories up to and including present-day techniques and models. Approaches reviewed include the early social and psychological models, through the rational choice, spatial modelling and economic theories, to the more sophisticated contemporary models. By carefully presenting and explaining the major technical and methodological advances made in voting studies, the text serves to provide a complete review of the different approaches and techniques that have characterized this area of study from its origins to the present day. The book includes separate chapters on abstention and electoral competition, and employs a range of empirical examples from a number of countries. It concludes by looking at how voting studies might evolve in the future. Voters and Voting: An Introduction will be essential reading for all students of electoral and political behaviour across the social and political sciences.

Incremental Polarization

Incremental Polarization
Author: Justin Buchler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2018-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190865601

As the last decade has shown, ideological polarization in Congress has reached historic levels. Yet, spatial theory has become increasingly important for how scholars understand Congress and legislative elections. In spatial models, candidates select positions along an ideological spectrum, and voters choose candidates based on those locations. However, the central tendency of these models is for the candidates to converge to the location of the median voter, so polarization has become increasingly problematic for spatial theory, even as scholars have come to rely increasingly on these models. In Incremental Polarization, Justin Buchler provides a unified spatial model of legislative elections, parties, and roll call voting to explain the development of polarization in Congress. His model moves beyond elections and factors in legislators' roll call voting, where a different but related spatial process operates. By linking these models, Incremental Polarization fills a critical gap in our understanding of the strategic, electoral, and procedural roots of polarization-and the role that parties play in the process.