Economic Inequality and Political Representation in Switzerland

Economic Inequality and Political Representation in Switzerland
Author: Jan Rosset
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2016-03-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319271172

This book analyzes the link between economic and political inequalities and investigates the mechanisms that lead to economically rooted inequalities in the political representation of citizens’ policy preferences. Focusing on the case of Switzerland and evaluating data from the post-electoral survey, Selects 2007, the author demonstrates that the policy preferences of members of the Federal Assembly best reflect those of rich citizens. This pattern is explained by differential levels of political participation and knowledge across income groups, party finance, the fact that representatives tend to come from higher economic strata, and the failure of the party-system structure to reflect the complexity of policy preferences among citizens.

Gender Equality in Context

Gender Equality in Context
Author: Brigitte Liebig
Publisher: Barbara Budrich
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2016-01-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3847407279

Gender Equality has not yet been achieved in many western countries. Switzerland in particular has failed as a forerunner in integrating women in politics and economy. Taking Switzerland as a case study, the authors critically reflect the state of gender equality in different policy areas such as education, family and labour. The collection of articles reveals how gender policies and cultural contexts interact with social practices of gender (in)equality. They also outline the gender(ed) effects of recent changes and reform strategies for scientists, politicians and practitioners.

The Politics of Income Inequality in the United States

The Politics of Income Inequality in the United States
Author: Nathan J. Kelly
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2009-03-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0521514584

Using income surveys and various political-economic data, this book shows that income inequality is fundamental to the dynamics of US politics.

Hometown Inequality

Hometown Inequality
Author: Brian F. Schaffner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2020-07-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108659888

Local governments play a central role in American democracy, providing essential services such as policing, water, and sanitation. Moreover, Americans express great confidence in their municipal governments. But is this confidence warranted? Using big data and a representative sample of American communities, this book provides the first systematic examination of racial and class inequalities in local politics. We find that non-whites and less-affluent residents are consistent losers in local democracy. Residents of color and those with lower incomes receive less representation from local elected officials than do whites and the affluent. Additionally, they are much less likely than privileged community members to have their preferences reflected in local government policy. Contrary to the popular assumption that governments that are “closest” govern best, we find that inequalities in representation are most severe in suburbs and small towns. Typical reforms do not seem to improve the situation, and we recommend new approaches.

The Political Geography of Inequality

The Political Geography of Inequality
Author: Pablo Beramendi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2012-03-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107008131

This is a book about redistribution and inequality in political unions, a form of democracy that involves several levels of government and that encompasses about one third of the population living under democracy around the world. The analysis concerns how different unions solve the tension between the protection of autonomy for specific territories and the redistribution of wealth among them and among their citizens.

Unequal Political Participation Worldwide

Unequal Political Participation Worldwide
Author: Aina Gallego
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2015
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 110702353X

This book describes the levels of unequal electoral participation in thirty-six countries worldwide, examines possible causes of this phenomenon, and discusses its consequences.

Understanding Inequality: Social Costs and Benefits

Understanding Inequality: Social Costs and Benefits
Author: Amanda Machin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2016-04-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3658116633

The contributions in this book highlight, contextualize and analyze different aspects of social inequality. What are the various cause and effects of inequality? How have these changed over recent decades? Which social policies might be best able to intervene? Written by authors from a variety of disciplines and geographical regions, these contributions provide a rich account of inequality within contemporary society. The role of the state, the media and the market in exacerbating and alleviating patterns of equality are all accessed alongside analysis of changing patterns of exclusion and hierarchy.

Working for the Few

Working for the Few
Author: Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva
Publisher: Oxfam
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2014-01-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1780775393

Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities

Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities
Author: Amory Gethin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 657
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674248422

The empirical starting point for anyone who wants to understand political cleavages in the democratic world, based on a unique dataset covering fifty countries since WWII. Who votes for whom and why? Why has growing inequality in many parts of the world not led to renewed class-based conflicts, seeming instead to have come with the emergence of new divides over identity and integration? News analysts, scholars, and citizens interested in exploring those questions inevitably lack relevant data, in particular the kinds of data that establish historical and international context. Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities provides the missing empirical background, collecting and examining a treasure trove of information on the dynamics of polarization in modern democracies. The chapters draw on a unique set of surveys conducted between 1948 and 2020 in fifty countries on five continents, analyzing the links between votersÕ political preferences and socioeconomic characteristics, such as income, education, wealth, occupation, religion, ethnicity, age, and gender. This analysis sheds new light on how political movements succeed in coalescing multiple interests and identities in contemporary democracies. It also helps us understand the conditions under which conflicts over inequality become politically salient, as well as the similarities and constraints of voters supporting ethnonationalist politicians like Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro, Marine Le Pen, and Donald Trump. Bringing together cutting-edge data and historical analysis, editors Amory Gethin, Clara Mart’nez-Toledano, and Thomas Piketty offer a vital resource for understanding the voting patterns of the present and the likely sources of future political conflict.

Opposition Parties in European Legislatures

Opposition Parties in European Legislatures
Author: Elisabetta De Giorgi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2018-03-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317200012

Democratic theory considers it fundamental for parties in government to be both responsive to their electorate and responsible to internal and international constraints. But recently these two roles have become more and more incompatible with Mair’s growing divide in European party systems between parties which claim to represent, but don’t deliver, and those which deliver, but are no longer seen to represent truer than ever. This book contains a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the behaviour of the opposition parties in eleven European democracies across Western and East Central Europe. Specifically, it investigates the parliamentary behaviour of the opposition parties, and shows that the party context is increasingly diverse. It demonstrates the emergence of two distinct types of opposition: one more cooperative, carried out by the mainstream parties (those with government aspirations), and one more adversarial focusing on government scrutiny rather than on policy alternatives (parties permanently excluded from power). It systematically and analytically explores the sources of their behaviour, whilst acknowledging that opposition is broader than its mere parliamentary behaviour. Finally, it considers the European agenda and the economic crisis as two possible intervening variables that might have an impact on the opposition parties’ behaviour and the government-opposition relations. As such, it responds to questions that are major concerns for the European democracies of the new millennium. This text will be of key interest to students and scholars of political parties, European politics, comparative politics and democracy.