Patrick Emmenegger

Oxford University Press has accepted our manuscript “Stacking the Deck: The Party Politics of Electoral System Choice” (co-authored with André Walter) for publication. In the book, we analyze how incumbent parties contain new electoral threats by means of electoral alliances, gerrymandering, and malapportionment. Moreover, we show how the success of containment measures (or lack thereof) influences parties’ preferences for electoral system change. Finally, we show that also in PR systems, electoral district design is influenced by parties’ seat maximization interests. The book should be available as open access some time in 2025.

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the EU Industrial Policy Report 2024 by the LUISS Hub for New Industrial Policy and Economic Governance (LUHNIP). The contribution is entitled “A Continent in Search of Skills? Aiding the Twin Transition through Skill Formation Policy” and is co-authored with Niccolo Durazzi and Alina Felder. The entire report can be found here.

Huge news! Former HSG PhD student and GOVPET postdoctoral researcher Annatina Aerne has just been appointed assistant professor in economic and organizational sociology at Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin. Congratulations and good start on the Emerald Isle!

Congratulations to Linda Wanklin for starting her new position at the Donor Committee for Dual Vocational Education and Training. Luckily, Linda will continue to contribute to GOVPET research on a part-time basis!

The British Journal of Political Science just accepted our paper entitled “Who Counts? Non-Citizen Residents, Spatial Sorting, and Malapportionment” (with André Walter). Here is the abstract:

Existing research argues that malapportionment primarily favors rural areas, resulting in conservative biases of electoral systems. In this paper, we provide a new perspective on the study of apportionment processes by identifying the institutional design under which malapportionment may favor other regions. Because of the geographical sorting of non-citizen residents, we argue that regions with high shares of non-citizen residents benefit from population-based apportionment, whereas the spatial sorting of non-citizens does not affect malapportionment in case of citizen-based apportionment. Empirically, we use sub-national data from ten advanced democracies to forward evidence that differences in apportionment mechanisms and district-level shares of non-citizen residents systematically influence malapportionment. Our findings suggest that the impact of malapportionment on political representation and public policies might be more heterogeneous than previously thought.

Former GOVPET postdoctoral researcher Lukas Graf was appointed as the new head of the Observatory for Vocational Education and Training (OBS) at the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (Link). Congratulations, Lukas!

The European Political Science Review just accepted the paper “Partisan Districting and the Adoption of Proportional Representation: Gerrymandering and its Discontents” for publication (co-authored with André Walter). Here is the abstract:

Electoral engineering strategies in majoritarian electoral systems, in particular the possibility to contain insurgent parties by manipulating electoral districts for partisan gain, are key determinants of parties’ position on the adoption of proportional representation (PR). Providing both qualitative and quantitative evidence, this paper demonstrates that partisan districting can be an effective strategy to protect incumbent parties’ dominant political position. In addition, it shows how insurgent parties push for the adoption of PR to end the practice of partisan districting. Finally, it demonstrates that incumbents – in the face of increasing electoral threats – cling to the existing majoritarian system if partisan districting allows them to influence vote-seat distortions in their favor. Together, these findings suggest that the possibility to contain insurgent parties by means of partisan districting is an important but overlooked alternative to the adoption of PR. Moreover, by demonstrating that vote-seat distortions moderate the relationship between district-level electoral threats and legislators’ support for PR adoption, this paper offers an important corrective to Stein Rokkan’s influential electoral threat thesis.

Great News! The article “International Trade, the Great War, and the Origins of Taxation: Sister Republics Parting Ways” (co-authored with André Walter, published in the Swiss Political Science Review) was selected as the second-best social science article published in 2022 in a German-language journal by the Fritz-Thyssen Stiftung. For more information on the Fritz-Thyssen Preis, see the foundation’s website: Link

Great news from the Swiss Political Science Review. Our paper “How Coordinated Capitalism Adapts to the Knowledge Economy: Different Upskilling Strategies in Germany and Switzerland” (with Scherwin Bajka and Cecilia Ivardi) just got accepted for publication. Here is the abstract:

The rise of the knowledge economy challenges coordinated models of capitalism by requiring their skill formation systems to produce a workforce with higher skills. This paper examines how coordinated capitalism adapts to upskilling pressures by jointly studying general education and vocational education and training (VET) at both upper-secondary and tertiary levels. Employing a comparative research design covering German and Swiss upskilling efforts over the past 50 years, we observe important differences. Switzerland, with influential small firms and weak union presence, focuses on keeping VET an attractive option at upper-secondary level by favoring VET graduates’ access to tertiary education. By contrast, Germany, marked by large firm dominance and influential unions, concentrates on expanding general education throughout and adding vocational elements later. Our analysis suggests that firms’ reform preferences are conditioned by their size and political constraints to reform.