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Age and Descriptive Representation in Southern Europe: The Impact of the Great Recession on National Parliaments

2021; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 26; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13608746.2022.2026336

1743-9612

André Freire, Andrea Pedrazzani, Emmanouil Tsatsanis, Xavier Coller, Paolo Segatti,

Electoral Systems and Political Participation

This article looks at how well different age groups are represented in the parliaments of Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. We focus on three periods – before, during and after the ‘Great Recession’ – assuming the economic turmoil has generated new demands channelled by new parties that have recently entered parliament or have had a surge during the crisis. Data comes from mass surveys carried out in each country and from MP biographies. The findings reveal relevant changes in Spain and Italy, with more young people in the parties that appeared or had a surge during the crisis, whereas in Greece and Portugal no relevant changes are observed.