Are moderate parties rewarded in multiparty systems?

We present cross-national analyses - both cross-sectional and longitudinal - estimating the vote shares for approximately 80 parties across Western Europe from 1984 to 1998. The results indicate that parties' vote shares increase with their proximity to the centre of the voter distribution, although the effects are relatively small. These findings corroborate the theoretical results reported by Lin et al. in their article 'Equilibrium in Multican-didate Probabilistic Spatial Voting' (Public Choice, Vol. 98, pp. 59-82), and provide support for conclusions reported by other authors who rely on simulations of individual-level data from national election surveys. © European Consortium for Political Research 2005

Strikes are more common in countries with majoritarian electoral systems

Strikes are more common in those OECD countries where the legislature is elected in single member districts (SMD) than in those where it is elected by proportional representation (PR). Furthermore, more working days are lost due to industrial conflict in countries with SMD. I suggest a politico-economic explanation for these rarely noticed empirical regularities. Further empirical testing – including controls drawn from previous strike research – reveals that they hold up in a variety of econometric specifications. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007Electoral systems, Strikes, Political economy,

Conceitos de espaço na análise de políticas de saúde Concepts of space in the analysis of health policies

A incorporação da dimensão espacial na análise de políticas de saúde, com todas as suas conseqüências práticas, vem assumindo crescente importância, sustenta a autora com base num amplo levantamento de fontes na literatura especializada. Há um avanço real na passagem da atenção ao território para a atenção ao espaço, com suas tensões internas. A ênfase na heterogeneidade do espaço urbano permite dirigir-se de maneira mais informada e rigorosa para as questões centrais da justiça e da cidadania.<br>The incorporation of the spatial dimension in the analysis of health policies, with all its practical consequences, shows a growing importance, holds the author on the basis of a wide survey of sources in the specialized literature. There is a real advance in the passage from the attention to territory to the attention to space, with its internal tensions. The emphasis on the heterogeneity of urban space allows addressing in a more informed and rigorous way the central questions of justice and citizenship