In this paper, we unveil targeted repression against journalists as an elaborate strategy used by modern autocrats to mitigate the risk of mass protests during autocratic elections-a common threat to their rule. Repression is deployed to discipline the media before elections to secure favorable...

The concept of the Condorcet winner has become central to most electoral models in the political economy literature. A Condorcet winner is the alternative preferred by a plurality in every pairwise competition; the notion of a k-winner generalizes that of a Condorcet winner. The k-winner is the...

This report compiles our recent comment on Ahmed, Hodler, and Islam (2024, AHI-2024) and our response to the authors' reply to our comment. Our report is one element in a concerted forensic reproduction of studies based on data collected by GDRI, a Bangladesh-based survey company. We appreciate...

Using a novel dataset in a difference-in-differences framework, I study the political implications of the change in policies protecting drought-impacted communities in Tunisia in 3088 districts. In 2016, the Tunisian government had drastically reduced support to farmers affected by droughts. I...

This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. We rely on a Regression Discontinuity design that compares municipalities where women narrowly won the election with those where...

We study the electoral repercussions of the L'Aquila earthquake in 2009, one of Italy's most catastrophic post-WWII seismic events. We construct a unique municipality-level dataset, combining high-resolution data on the ground acceleration recorded during the earthquake with European election...

In this paper, we unveil targeted repression against journalists as an elaborate strategy used by modern autocrats to mitigate the risk of mass protests during autocratic elections—a common threat to their rule. Repression is deployed to discipline the media before elections to secure...

Analyzing U.S. House elections (2002-2010), measures of legislators' effectiveness, and exogenous increases in Chinese import competition, we document a conditional relationship between legislative effectiveness and electoral success. In districts ex-posed to large trade shocks, incumbent...

This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. Using a Regression Discontinuity design, we find that, compared to male mayors, female mayors significantly reduce greenhouse gas...

In the face of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the study at hand investigates the role of work, working conditions, and workers' voice for (anti-)democratic attitudes and far-right voting intentions. For this purpose, primary survey data was collected among the labour force in ten EU...

This is the third out four papers on the 2025 German Bundestag elections continuing our analysis of the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021 elections. In particular, this paper contributes to the discussion of the imperfection of the German 2023/24 Electoral reform in [Tangian 2025a]. We show that policy...

This is the first of four articles on the 2025 German federal elections, continuing our analysis of the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021 elections. We begin with the 2023/24 electoral reform, which aimed to curb the uncontrolled growth of the Bundestag caused by political developments not envisaged in...

Elections in fragile democracies are not merely contests over policy but battles for control over state resources, including foreign aid. Aid provides local governments with substantial discretionary funds, creating strong incentives for rent-seeking political actors to capture political office....

This is the second out of four papers on the 2025 German federal elections continuing our analysis of the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021 Bundestag elections. We estimate the policy representation ability of the 29 parties that participated in the 2025 elections and of the 2025 Bundestag. For this...

Racist attacks and incidents frequently spark anti-racist protest campaigns. This research examines the effect of such mobilization on voting behavior in subsequent national and European elections. We focus on two periods of anti-racist demonstra-tions in Germany that followed 1) the killing of...

This paper investigates how concurrent national and local elections affect the local political participation and competition. Leveraging a quasi-experimental framework provided by Italy's staggered electoral timing, the paper employs a difference-in-differences design. Estimates reveal that...

The European Parliament's 'Review of European and National Election Results' is the most complete and comprehensive source of data on developments across the political spectrum in the EU, meticulously tracking the dynamic composition of the European parliament over time. With data dating back to...

It is now possible, with four decades of hindsight, to look with a degree of historical perspective on the remarkable impact of the European Parliament in the years immediately after the first European elections. Having an elected Parliament among the institutions of the European Community was a...

It is now possible, with four decades of hindsight, to look with a degree of historical perspective on the remarkable impact of the European Parliament in the years immediately after the first European elections. Having an elected Parliament among the institutions of the European Community was a...

The Poor People's Campaign (PPC) of 1968 was focused on highlighting, and ultimately reducing, poverty in the United States. As part of the campaign, protestors from across the country were transported to Washington, D.C. in 6 separate bus caravans, each of which made stops en route to rest,...

No Russian election since Soviet times has been manipulated to the extent we are seeing in the 2024 “presidential election”. The political context is dictatorial, the regime’s power grab comprehensive. The media are subject to wartime censorship, and there is not even a pretence of...

Small-scale federal democracies depend on the active participation of individuals in local political office. Both anecdotal evidence and empirical studies across Western democracies indicate a growing difficulty in recent decades to recruit candidates for municipal offices. This study examines...

This study is the first to analyze the impact of domestic political unrest on Kuwait's stock market. Our data indicates a daily market decline of 0.16 percent during periods when the parliament is suspended. This translates to a 7.1 percent loss in the value of the Kuwait Stock Exchange for each...

Meticulously tracing the European Parliament's dynamic composition is the purpose of the 'Review of European and National Election Results'. With several updates per legislative term and produced continuously since 2014, the 'Review' is the most complete and comprehensive in-house database...

The European Parliament's Spring 2024 Eurobarometer survey reveals a strong interest among citizens in the upcoming European elections (6-9 June 2024) and awareness of their significance in the current geopolitical context. Results show that Europeans are increasingly willing to vote in this...

Meticulously tracing the European Parliament's dynamic composition is the purpose of the 'Review of European and National Election Results'. With several updates per legislative term and produced continuously since 2014, the 'Review' is the most complete and comprehensive in-house database...

The European Parliament's Spring 2024 Eurobarometer survey reveals a strong interest among citizens in the upcoming European elections (6-9 June 2024) and awareness of their significance in the current geopolitical context. Results show that Europeans are increasingly willing to vote in this...

As bastions of democracy and guardians of gender equality, gender-sensitive parliaments ensure that there are no barriers for women and men in all their diversity to participate equally and have equal influence over decision-making. They serve as a positive example of safe, gender-equal...

As bastions of democracy and guardians of gender equality, gender-sensitive parliaments ensure that there are no barriers for women and men in all their diversity to participate equally and have equal influence over decision-making. They serve as a positive example of safe, gender-equal...