Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2007
Abstract
As the legislative body of the European Union (EU), the European Parliament (EP) comprises 732 elected representatives from over 150 national political parties from 25 member states. At the EP level, these members are affiliated with seven major party groups representing distinct policy positions. Here we provide precise estimates of these policy positions based on expert surveys, in addition to characterizing the dimensionality of policy competition in the EP. Our results suggest not only that party groups have identifiable and differentiated positions on multiple issues of policy, but also that these positions group broadly into two orthogonal dimensions: one consisting of classic left-right social and economic issues, and the other related to the powers and scope of EU institutions.
Keywords
European Parliament, expert surveys, party competition, policy positions
Discipline
Eastern European Studies | Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Party Politics
Volume
13
Issue
1
First Page
5
Last Page
28
ISSN
1354-0688
Identifier
10.1177/1354068806068593
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Citation
McElroy, Gall, & BENOIT, Kenneth.(2007). Party groups and policy positions in the European Parliament. Party Politics, 13(1), 5-28.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3988
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068806068593