Trading votes: what drives MEP support for trade liberalisation?

Basedow, Robert ORCID: 0000-0001-6463-4860 and Hoerner, Julian (2024) Trading votes: what drives MEP support for trade liberalisation? Journal of European Public Policy, 31 (1). 20 - 53. ISSN 1350-1763

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Abstract

Which factors drive support of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for trade liberalisation? The literature suggests that economic factors, ideology, and politicization shape MEP voting behaviour. Drawing on a new dataset encompassing all trade-related MEP votes (2009-2019), this study offers a quantitative assessment of the determinants of MEP support for trade liberalisation. It finds that ideological factors have the strongest and most persistent effect on MEP support for trade liberalisation. The economic competitiveness of MEPs’ home regions, in turn, has only a limited effect. Politicization, lastly, has an unclear effect on its own and mostly influences MEP voting behaviour through interactions with ideological and economic factors. The study offers the first comprehensive assessment of the determinants of MEP voting on trade liberalisation and contributes to political economy research on electoral institutions and trade, the European Parliament’s role in trade policy and the effects of politicization on policy-making.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rjpp20
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Authors
Divisions:	European Institute
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) H Social Sciences > HF Commerce J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Date Deposited:	16 Aug 2023 09:36
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 06:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119995

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