Measuring and explaining regulatory reform in the EU: A time‐series analysis of eight sectors, 1984–2012

Over the last three decades, European Union regulation of the internal market has become highly pervasive, affecting practically all domains of European citizens' lives. Many studies have focused on understanding the process and causes of regulatory change, but with limited attempts to analyse the more general sources of regulatory reform. This article focuses on the determinants of stability and change in EU regulation. An original dataset of 169 pieces of legislation (regulations, directives and decisions) across eight different sectors is developed and the dynamics of regulatory reform in the EU are analysed. Using time‐series analysis of count data, evidence is found that the number of winning coalitions in the Council and the size of EU membership have a significant impact on regulatory reform in the EU. By contrast, the ideological composition of the EU's legislative bodies is not systematically related to regulatory reform.     

Question order bias revisited: A split‐ballot experiment on satisfaction with public services among experienced and professional users

Public decision‐makers increasingly rely on satisfaction surveys to inform budget and policy decisions. Yet, our knowledge of whether, and under what conditions, this input from public service users provides valid performance information remains incomplete. Using a preregistered split‐ballot experiment among government grant recipients in Denmark, this article shows that the ordering of survey questions can bias satisfaction measures even for highly experienced and professional respondents. We find that asking about overall satisfaction before any specific service ratings lowers overall user satisfaction, compared to the reverse order, while the correlations between specific ratings and overall satisfaction are relatively stable. Also, the question order effect outweighs that of a large‐scale embezzlement scandal, which unexpectedly hit the investigated government agency during the data collection. Our results support rising concerns that subjective performance indicators are susceptible to bias. We discuss how practitioners should approach satisfaction surveys to account for the risk of question order bias.     

Public Service Motivation and Attraction to Public Versus Private Sector Employment: Academic Field of Study as Moderator?

ABSTRACT

Despite extensive public service motivation (PSM) research, our knowledge of PSM's influence on individuals’ sector employment preferences is limited. Few studies examine this relationship by suitable research designs, and the empirical findings are mixed. Using a sample of 718 Danish students of economics, political science, and law, this article tests (1) the relationship between PSM and attraction to public versus private sector employment and (2) the moderating effect on this relationship of students’ academic field of study. Overall, results underscore the multidimensionality of the PSM construct, as the PSM dimension of “public interest” is positively associated with attraction to public sector employment and negatively associated with attraction to private sector employment, while the PSM dimension of “compassion” is unrelated to both. Importantly, however, moderation analyses reveal notable correlation differences across students’ academic fields. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of prior and future research.     

Towards a New Typology of Party Lifespans and Minor Parties

Minor and new parties tend to be forgotten by analysts of parties and party systems. Good as well as bad reasons account for this neglect. The neglect ought, however, to be remedied, since it can be argued that minor, and especially new minor, parties play an important role in the transformation of party systems.
On the basis of a 'broad' definition of the concept of political party it is suggested that it is worthwhile to look upon parties as mortal organizations bounded by a lifespan. The lifespan of a party can be described by means of four threshold concepts, and it is further argued that lifespan curves can be studied in terms of their modality, dispersion, flatness, and skewness.
A number of questions are derived from these concepts. A new typology of minor parties and of party lifespans may be generated from this approach.     

The dynamics of European party systems

Nomination: Changing patterns of electoral volatility by Richard S. Katz, p.83
Nomination: To swing or not to swing by Hans Rattinger, p.86
Reflections: Dynamics of European party systems A catalyst for a discussion by Mogens N. Pedersen, p.93     

Bureaucratic decision-making: A multi-method study of gender similarity bias and gender stereotype beliefs

Research finds evidence for bias in frontline workers’ decision-making affecting citizens, but important questions remain about the underlying causal logics: which mechanisms explain disparity in decision-making for different demographic categories of citizens? To what extent is frontline workers’ decision-making influenced by cognitive biases toward citizens similar to themselves (similarity bias) and by stereotypes? Focusing on gender bias and drawing on social identity theory and gender stereotype theory, this article examines how caseworker–citizen gender similarity and gender stereotypes shape caseworkers’ decision-making. Using (a) an experimental vignette, (b) measurement of gender stereotype beliefs from a Brief Implicit Association Test, and (c) quasi-experimental administrative data, we examine the effects of gender similarity and gender stereotypes in the policy area of child visitation in Denmark. We find support for both gender similarity and gender stereotype expectations. Moreover, the effect of gender stereotypes appears slightly larger than that of gender similarity.