Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 645-668 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | West European Politics |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 22 Jan 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Abstract
Descriptive representation matters for substantive representation. Yet, one key legislator characteristic has received comparatively little attention in research on substantive representation: the occupational background of members of parliament. In this article, it is argued that occupational background shapes patterns of representation since the choice of occupation both indicates certain interests while also generating expertise in issues related to the job. In order to assess this proposition, there is an analysis of whether local councillors’ occupations affect their issue emphasis in the local council and to what extent this effect is moderated by parties’ issue saliences. Empirically, the study focuses on local councillors’ issue emphasis using data on 1,269 local councillors in Germany between 2011 and 2020. The results have important implications for understanding local councillors’ descriptive and substantive representation as they show that occupation matters: councillors emphasise issues related to their occupation more often than other representatives.
Keywords
- descriptive representation, Germany, Issue representation, occupation, parliamentary questions, substantive representation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Political Science and International Relations
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In: West European Politics, Vol. 48, No. 3, 2025, p. 645-668.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of occupational background on issue representation
AU - Velimsky, Jan A.
AU - Block, Sebastian
AU - Gross, Martin
AU - Nyhuis, Dominic
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Descriptive representation matters for substantive representation. Yet, one key legislator characteristic has received comparatively little attention in research on substantive representation: the occupational background of members of parliament. In this article, it is argued that occupational background shapes patterns of representation since the choice of occupation both indicates certain interests while also generating expertise in issues related to the job. In order to assess this proposition, there is an analysis of whether local councillors’ occupations affect their issue emphasis in the local council and to what extent this effect is moderated by parties’ issue saliences. Empirically, the study focuses on local councillors’ issue emphasis using data on 1,269 local councillors in Germany between 2011 and 2020. The results have important implications for understanding local councillors’ descriptive and substantive representation as they show that occupation matters: councillors emphasise issues related to their occupation more often than other representatives.
AB - Descriptive representation matters for substantive representation. Yet, one key legislator characteristic has received comparatively little attention in research on substantive representation: the occupational background of members of parliament. In this article, it is argued that occupational background shapes patterns of representation since the choice of occupation both indicates certain interests while also generating expertise in issues related to the job. In order to assess this proposition, there is an analysis of whether local councillors’ occupations affect their issue emphasis in the local council and to what extent this effect is moderated by parties’ issue saliences. Empirically, the study focuses on local councillors’ issue emphasis using data on 1,269 local councillors in Germany between 2011 and 2020. The results have important implications for understanding local councillors’ descriptive and substantive representation as they show that occupation matters: councillors emphasise issues related to their occupation more often than other representatives.
KW - descriptive representation
KW - Germany
KW - Issue representation
KW - occupation
KW - parliamentary questions
KW - substantive representation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182858589&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01402382.2023.2294666
DO - 10.1080/01402382.2023.2294666
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85182858589
VL - 48
SP - 645
EP - 668
JO - West European Politics
JF - West European Politics
SN - 0140-2382
IS - 3
ER -