Transformation of parliamentary elites: recruitment and careers of legislators in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, 1990-2012

Die erste vergleichende Längsschnittstudie über die parlamentarischen Eliten untersucht auf der Basis der 21 zwischen 1990 und 2012 gewählten Nationalparlamente von Estland, Lettland und Litauen sowohl Prozesse der individuellen als auch der strukturellen Elitenzirkulation. Die individuelle Elitenzirkulation variiert in den baltischen Staaten in ihrem Ausmaß und ihrer Häufigkeit, obgleich sich Art und Weise des Elitenwechsels nicht unterscheiden. Die Variation erklärt sich vor allem durch die Volatilität auf der Angebotsseite und die Pfad-Abhängigkeit (die Länge des sowjetischen Regimes). Die strukturelle Elitenzirkulation lässt in vielerlei Hinsicht eine Transformation der sozialen und politischen Profile von Abgeordneten in Estland, Lettland und Litauen erkennen, wenngleich einzelne Befunde auf eine Kontinuität (Elitenreproduktion) hindeuten. Die Transformation der politischen Eliten ist im Baltikum durch die Abfolge zweier Generationen von Parlamentariern charakterisiert: Auf die Transitionseliten während der frühen Demokratisierungsphase in den 1990er Jahren folgten die Post-Transitionseliten. Diese beiden Abgeordentengenerationen unterscheiden sich nicht nur hinsichtich ihrer vorparlamentarischen demokratischen politischen Erfahrung, sondern auch in ihrem beruflichen Hintergrund und bezüglich des Geschlechts (stärkere Repräsentation von Frauen). Ungeachtet der fortbestehenden Volatilität der Angebotsseite lassen die Befunde Tendenzen einer politischen Professionalisierung der Parlamentarier in Estland, Lettland und Litauen erkennen. Die Turnover-Raten sind in jedem der drei Länder schon mindestens einmal auf die Werte der etablierten westlichen Demokratien gesunken, wenngleich sie auf diesem niedrigen Niveau nicht verblieben. Dieser kann trotzdem als Indikator für eine parlamentarische Institutionalisierung im Sinne Polsbys (1968) verstanden werden und erleichtert zudem die parlamentarische Sozialisation neuer Repräsentationseliten

LEGISLATIVE TURNOVER IN THE BALTICS AFTER 1990: WHY IS IT SO HIGH AND WHAT ARE ITS IMPLICATIONS?

This article discusses the causes and potential consequences of the high legislative turnover in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the period from 1990 onwards. The main findings from the subject-related literature are being confronted with the data on the Baltic parliamentary recruitment. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the path dependence (length of the previous non-democratic regime) and the supply-side volatility are the most convincing explanations for the high turnover among Baltic legislators

Sen's Capability Approach to Welfare Economics

We describe Amartya Sen's Capability Approach to welfare evaluation in the language of standard welfare economics, and assess to what extent it provides a genuine alternative for individual welfare measurement and policy evaluation. We review the nascent empirical literature on the capability approach and assess whether it makes a genuine difference with standard welfare evaluation

Disability and multidimensional quality of life: A capability approach to health status assessment

This paper offers an approach to assessing quality of life, based on Sen's (1985) theory, which it uses to understand loss in quality of life due to mobility impairment. Specifically, it provides a novel theoretical analysis that is able to account for the possibility that some functionings may increase when a person's capabilities decrease, if substitution effects are large enough. We then develop new data consistent with our theoretical framework that permits comparison of quality of life between those with a disability (mobility impairment) and those without. Empirical results show that mobility impairment has widespread rather than concentrated impacts on capabilities and is associated with high psychological costs. We also find evidence that a small number of functionings are higher for those with a disability, as our theory allows. The paper concludes by discussing possible implications for policy and health assessment methods

Outcome Measurement in Economic Evaluations of Public Health Interventions: a Role for the Capability Approach?

Public health interventions have received increased attention from policy makers, and there has been a corresponding increase in the number of economic evaluations within the domain of public health. However, methods to evaluate public health interventions are less well established than those for medical interventions. Focusing on health as an outcome measure is likely to underestimate the impact of many public health interventions. This paper provides a review of outcome measures in public health; and describes the benefits of using the capability approach as a means to developing an all encompassing outcome measure

Choosing Dimensions: The Capability Approach and Multidimensional Poverty

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Legislative turnover in the Baltics after 1990: why is it so high and what are its implications?

This article discusses the causes and potential consequences of the high legislative turnover in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the period from 1990 onwards. The main findings from the subject-related literature are being confronted with the data on the Baltic parliamentary recruitment. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the path dependence (length of the previous non-democratic regime) and the supply-side volatility are the most convincing explanations for the high turnover among Baltic legislators