'academia' Category
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May262009
Article on Italian electoral reform out
My article with Alan Renwick and David Hine is out now in Electoral Studies’ “in press” section. Abstract:
In December 2005, Italy’s mixed-member electoral system was replaced with a system of bonus-adjusted proportional representation. The reform conformed with rational-choice models in that it was imposed by the ruling coalition, which sought to bolster its own power [...] -
Jan252009
Optimal classification doesn’t work in Italy
For Lord Kelvin, “when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind”. More and more political scientists share this conviction, but unfortunately the [...]
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Nov262008
Paper on pluralism
Presented at the ASMI Conference over the weekend. From the abstract:
In this paper I argue that the concept of pluralism – the most important value in
the Italian media debate – is conceptually confused. I identify three mutually incom-
patible conceptions of pluralism used when discussing the public broadcaster Rai: (1)
structural pluralism, satisfied when the public [...] -
Jun242008
Working paper on vote transfers between the parties
My paper on the 2008 election and vote shifts between the parties has now been published at CADMUS, the EUI’s online repository.
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May232008
Vote transfers between the parties, 2006-2008
Today’s Venerdi in Repubblica has gone to town on the basis of a study released by the Istituto Cattaneo. The study [PDF] is presented misleadingly: the magazine gives only one diagram (for Milan) but the Cattaneo study only gives vote transfers for a number of cities/areas – Milano, Brescia, Como, Varese, Bologna, Modena, and Reggio [...]
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Apr092008
Pork-barrel politics
Okay, it refers to the First Republic, but this paper by Miriam Golden and Lucio Picci is excellent. Bottom line: more important government deputies got more pork; parties were unable to steer resources to districts in which they were marginal.
Does this pattern continue today? Probably. In the face-to-face debate in 2006, one of the most [...] -
Nov052006
Academic jobs in the UK, Canada
I was at a departmental retreat this weekend, and talk turned to careers. We realised that it might be a good idea to pool information about the academic job market in our own countries, especially in those still-rare cases where vacancy notices are posted on the internet and genuinely competitive.
So, for anyone who’s interested in [...] -
Jul162006
Politica in Italia 2006
I came back from Stockholm to a pleasant surprise: two copies of Politica in Italia 2006, featuring an article I co-authored with David Hine on the Berlusconi government’s reshuffle last year. The package was addressed to ‘Prof. Hanretty’. Well, I can dream.
Buy the book here.