Working or Shirking? A closer look at MPs' Expenses and Parliamentary Attendance

This paper studies determinants of MPs expense claims in Parlia-ment using the data released under the freedom of information act in2004. Using a multiple regression framework, we correlate expenseswith three sets of variables: constituency characteristics, party a¢ l-iation and individual characteristics. We also look at the ratio ofparliamentary expenses claimed to votes cast in parliament as a crudemeasure of value for money. We use the results to reflect on twoviews of the motivation of MPs - the Public Choice view and thepublic service view.[...]