David (Yen-Chieh) Liao
Affiliation
Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Global Studies, Aarhus University
Date
TBD
Discussants
TBD
Coauthors and affiliations
Keywords
electoral reform, SNTV, SMD
Abstract
This paper investigates how legislators respond to electoral reform by adjusting their ideological positions with respect to co-partisans and rivals. Using data from Taiwan's legislative roll calls over 20 years, we study the extent to which partisan disagreement is influenced by the 2008 Taiwanese electoral reform from Single Non-Transferable Votes to Single-Member Districts. Contrary to the literature, our empirical evidence documents that the reform significantly fragmented legislator positions in relation to both co-partisans and members from the rival party. Intra- and inter-party disagreement increased shortly after the reform. However, the effect of the reform diminishes over time. After 6 years, disagreement between mainstream parties returned to its pre-reform level. Our findings contribute to electoral system literature, providing policy implications for democratic countries contemplating electoral reforms.
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Asia
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Title
Electoral Reform and Fragmented Polarization: New Evidence from Taiwan Legislative Roll Calls