Can institutions pave the way for the young? Electoral systems and age representation in parliament

Abstract

Middle-aged to senior men of the ethnic majority and higher income groups are generally overrepresented in parliaments. While research on group representation has examined issues of gender, economic standing and, more recently, ethnicity, few studies examine age groups. We argue that the design of political institutions influences the average age of parliamentarians across nations and suggest that, compared to majoritarian systems, PR systems should grant younger politicians entry. Analyzing an original dataset we corroborate this argument in a global cross-national sample. After controlling for a range of potential explanatory factors, we find that PR systems produce, on average, a parliament with younger representatives.