Electoral bias and policy choice: Theory and evidence

Abstract

This paper develops a new approach to studying how electoral bias in favor of one party due to the pattern of districting a¤ects policy choice. We tie a commonly used measure of bias to the theory of party compe- tition and show how this a¤ects policy choice. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated using data on local government in England. The results suggest that reducing electoral bias leads parties to moderate their policies.