The Concentration and Distribution of Votes

Borooah, Vani (2014): The Concentration and Distribution of Votes. Published in: Votes, Parties, and Seats No. Palgrave Macmillan, London (July 2015): pp. 129-149.

Abstract

Borooah examines the topics of vote concentration (are there differences between in the INC and the BJP in the degree to which their votes and seats are concentrated in the various states?) and vote distribution (is there unevenness in the distribution of the INC and BJP vote across the constituencies?). Combining these topics the central question is what proportion of the seats won by the INC and the BJP was due to a high average vote and what proportion was the result of a favourable distribution of votes? The message that his results contains for the INC is that even it received the same number of total votes as the BJP it would still, because of differences between them in their vote distributions, win fewer seats. For the INC to nullify the effects of its distributional disadvantage it must raise its electoral popularity substantially above that of the BJP.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Concentration, Distribution, Votes, Herfindahl Index
• Subjects: P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P16 - Political Economy

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