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- Title
Behind the Scenes: What is Parliamentary Performance and How Can We Measure It?
- Authors
Schobess, Richard
- Abstract
Although evaluations of members of parliaments' (MPs) parliamentary work have gained increasing public popularity, the academic literature on the concept and measurement of parliamentary performance is surprisingly scarce. Most studies analysing (aspects of) MPs' parliamentary performance focus on quantitative parliamentary activity indicators only, thereby neglecting the quality and effectiveness of parliamentary work, and the importance of less visible parliamentary activities. This article introduces a conceptual framework of parliamentary performance as well as a more encompassing measurement approach, and provides a first empirical test of theoretically expected underlying dimensions on 325 Belgian MPs. This study proposes an innovative method relying on the collective expertise of MPs through peer assessment while controlling for potential rater effects. I demonstrate that parliamentary performance cannot be captured by parliamentary activity indicators alone. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses show that apart from three factors of parliamentary activity, two more qualitative factors (content and policy-making effectiveness) can be identified. The results suggest that future evaluations of MPs' parliamentary work may need to include more qualitative elements.
- Subjects
CONFIRMATORY factor analysis; EXPLORATORY factor analysis; PERFORMANCES; LEGISLATORS
- Publication
Parliamentary Affairs, 2022, Vol 75, Issue 4, p767
- ISSN
0031-2290
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/pa/gsab024