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The good, the loyal or the active? MPs’ parliamentary performance and the achievement of static and progressive career ambitions in parliament

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2022

Richard Schobess Open the ORCID record for Richard Schobess [Opens in a new window]  and
Benjamin de Vet
Richard Schobess*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, GASPAR, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Benjamin de Vet
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, GASPAR, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
*
*E-mail: richard.schobess@googlemail.com
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Abstract

Although often theorized, empirical research on the relationship between MPs’ parliamentary behaviour and their chances to realize career ambitions is relatively scarce. This article holistically analyses the effect of MPs’ (1) party loyalty, (2) activity level and (3) the quality of their parliamentary work on MPs’ prospects for re-election and their promotion to higher parliamentary office. Based on a unique combination of behavioural and peer assessment data on 325 federal and regional MPs in Belgium (2014–2019), we find that particularly MPs’ loyalty and activity level improve their career prospects in the subsequent term, in contrast to more qualitative aspects of their parliamentary work. These findings provide important new insights into how and to what degree legislators are rewarded for their parliamentary performance.

Keywords

career advancementparliamentary activityparliamentary performanceparty loyaltyre-election
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , November 2022 , pp. 600 - 617
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Consortium for Political Research

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