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Assessing the validity of the Manifesto Common Space Scores

RILE estimates based on party manifesto data suggest that political parties leapfrog on the left-right scale over time. This implausible finding has raised questions about the efficacy not only of RILE for estimating left-right positions but of coded party manifestos for political science research i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Flentje, Jan-Erik (Author) , König, Thomas (Author) , Marbach, Moritz (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 6 April 2017
In: Electoral studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 47, Pages: 25-35
ISSN:1873-6890
DOI:10.1016/j.electstud.2017.03.004
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2017.03.004
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379416302839
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Author Notes:Jan-Erik Flentje, Thomas König, Moritz Marbach
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Summary:RILE estimates based on party manifesto data suggest that political parties leapfrog on the left-right scale over time. This implausible finding has raised questions about the efficacy not only of RILE for estimating left-right positions but of coded party manifestos for political science research in general. The recently developed Manifesto Common Space Scores (MCSS), which reduce leapfrogging by accounting for the election-specific character of party manifestos, provide alternative estimates for parties left/right-positions, but little is known about their validity. This study shows that MCSS estimates exhibit greater convergent validity relative to RILE estimates when compared to other measures of parties left/right-positions. It also finds that MCSS has greater construct validity relative to RILE estimates in two prominent cases (Greece and Italy). Overall, the findings underscore the election-specific character of party manifestos and demonstrate that MCSS is a useful alternative measure of parties’ left-right positions.
Item Description:Gesehen am 05.04.2018
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1873-6890
DOI:10.1016/j.electstud.2017.03.004

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