Suchergebnisse

L'étude du temps dans les processus législatifs considérait jusqu'ici le temps essentiellement en tant que durée (du processus dans son ensemble ou de ses différentes étapes). La présente étude contribue aux recherches existantes en présentant une nouvelle manière de concevoir l'étude du temps, qui prend pour unité d'analyse l'ensemble de la trajectoire temporelle suivie par les projets de loi, depuis leur présentation au Parlement jusqu'à leur adoption finale. Les processus législatifs sont conçus comme des successions (ou des séquences) d'étapes par lesquelles doivent passer les projets de loi avant leur adoption finale. Le temps relatif consacré à chacune de ces étapes varie considérablement. Notre étude entend analyser les déterminants de cette variation de la durée relative dans les trajectoires observées. À cette fin, nous appliquons les outils d'analyse de la dispersion des séquences, une méthode communément employée dans le cadre de l'étude des antécédents professionnels ou des parcours de vie. L'analyse a été effectuée sur un échantillon d'actes législatifs adoptés en Italie entre 1987 et 2008. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens La disponibilité plus grande de données longitudinales et l'intérêt accru pour le changement temporel observé dans la théorie des sciences sociales ont contribué à renforcer l'intérêt des spécialistes des sciences sociales pour les outils d'analyse de séquences. Les scientifiques sont de plus en plus nombreux à se rendre compte que cet ensemble de méthodes peut effectivement compléter les techniques existantes pour l'étude des données temporelles car elles permettent d'aborder de nouvelles questions. Notre article montre que l'analyse de séquences peut être utilisée au-delà de l'étude des parcours de vie ou des antécédents professionnels, les principaux domaines auxquels elle se confinait jusqu'à présent. Nous présentons en outre une application d'une technique originale, l'analyse de dispersion, qui permet d'étudier la relation entre les trajectoires et les covariables pertinentes dans un cadre explicatif.

The study of time in legislative processes has so far understood time mainly as duration (of the process as a whole or of its single stages). This work contributes to existing research by presenting a new approach to the study of time which takes as the unit of analysis the whole temporal trajectory followed by a bill from its introduction to the floor to its final adoption. Legislative processes are conceived of as sequences of stages a bill has to go through before its final adoption. The relative time spent in each of these stages varies considerably. This work aims to explore the determinants of variation in the observed trajectories of relative duration. To this end, it applies the tools of discrepancy sequence analysis, a method commonly employed for the study of occupational histories or life courses. The analysis was conducted on a sample of Italian legislative acts adopted in Italy from 1987 to 2008. Points for practitioners The greater availability of longitudinal data and the increased focus of social science theory on temporal change have contributed to heightening the attention given by social science scholars to the tools of sequence analysis. Scholars are increasingly recognizing that this set of methods may effectively complement existing techniques for the study of temporal data, by allowing new questions to be addressed. This article shows an example of how sequence analysis may be extended beyond the study of life or career histories, where it has been mainly confined. What is more, it presents an application of a novel technique, discrepancy analysis, which allows the study of the relationship between the trajectories and covariates of interest in an explanatory framework.

Question time represents one of the most relevant institutional arenas where parties compete to get their favourite issues on the parliamentary agenda. Parties select which issue to address by weighing up two commitments simultaneously: fulfilling the party mandate received by their voters at election time and responding to the current priorities of voters. This article assesses the extent to which the recent sovereign debt crisis impacted the way parties balance these two imperatives of democratic representation. Through the issue coding of around 10,000 parliamentary oral questions tabled in Italy, Portugal and Spain between 2003 and 2014, the analysis shows that the worsening of economic conditions intensified the impact of citizens' priorities. However, there is no clear evidence of a decline in the importance of the party mandate for either the majority or opposition parties. These findings offer insights on the topic of party political representation in Southern Europe and whether it was affected by the Eurozone crisis.

European Union research has made great strides in understanding the dynamics of the European Union decision-making process. In contrast to this progress, the dynamics unfolding after the enactment of a European Union secondary legislative act has largely been ignored. Some of these acts remain in force in their original form for several years while others are revised soon after their enactment. What factors account for this variation? We empirically analyze the proposition that in the presence of 'legislative drift,' i.e. the intertemporal variation of decision-makers' preferences, major revisions of European Union legislative acts are more likely to occur. Based on an analysis of the revision histories of 158 major European Union acts in the time period between 1958 and 2003, we find significant support for this hypothesis. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright holder.]

European Union research has made great strides in understanding the dynamics of the European Union decision-making process. In contrast to this progress, the dynamics unfolding after the enactment of a European Union secondary legislative act has largely been ignored. Some of these acts remain in force in their original form for several years while others are revised soon after their enactment. What factors account for this variation? We empirically analyze the proposition that in the presence of 'legislative drift,' i.e. the intertemporal variation of decision-makers' preferences, major revisions of European Union legislative acts are more likely to occur. Based on an analysis of the revision histories of 158 major European Union acts in the time period between 1958 and 2003, we find significant support for this hypothesis.