11:00 - 13:15
Friday-Panel
Chair/s:
Nestor Castaneda
Discussant/s:
David Rueda
Meeting Room M

Christopher Wratil
Who Gets Represented? (Un)equal Representation in the European Union

Noam Lupu, Nicholas Carnes
Nascent Ambition and Government by the Privileged

André Walter, Andreina Thoma, Patrick Emmenegger
Stalled Democratization: Landholding Inequality, Social Control, and Mass Opposition to Suffrage Extension

Nestor Castaneda, David Doyle, Cassilde Schwartz
Why Steal from the Rich to Give to No One? Rethinking Redistribution in Unequal Countries
Nascent Ambition and Government by the Privileged
Noam Lupu 1, Nicholas Carnes 2
1 Vanderbilt University
2 Duke University

Why do so few working-class citizens go on to hold office in democracies? This paper tests an explanation that looms large in research on descriptive representation, namely, differences in nascent ambition. Are workers less likely to be personally inclined to run? In this study, we use new data from 10 surveys administered to 13,550 respondents in the Americas to conduct the first cross-national analysis of social class gaps in nascent ambition (and one of the largest studies of nascent ambition to date). Among more qualified respondents, we find little evidence of social class differences in who has thought about running for office, although we find substantial gender gaps, consistent with past research. These findings mirror research on the US and suggest that the barriers that discourage working-class citizens from holding office may be distinct from the obstacles that women face.