What Motivates an Oligarchic Elite to Democratize? Evidence from the Roll Call Vote on the Great Reform Act of 1832

The Great Reform Act of 1832 was a watershed for democracy in Great Britain. We study the vote on 22 March 1831 in the House of Commons to test three competing theories of democratization: public opinion, political expedience, and threat of revolution. Peaceful agitation and mass-support for reform...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of economic history Vol. 79; no. 3; pp. 773 - 825
Main Authors Aidt, Toke S., Franck, Raphaël
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.09.2019
Subjects
Agitation
Constituents
Counties
Democracy
Democratization
Economic history
Economic reform
Interest groups
Legislators
Legislatures
Lobbying
Members of Parliament
Oligarchy
Political power
Politicians
Politics
Public opinion
Reforms
Roll call
Rural areas
Rural communities
Self interest
Social unrest
Voting
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The Great Reform Act of 1832 was a watershed for democracy in Great Britain. We study the vote on 22 March 1831 in the House of Commons to test three competing theories of democratization: public opinion, political expedience, and threat of revolution. Peaceful agitation and mass-support for reform played an important role. Political expedience also motivated some members of Parliament to support the reform, especially if they were elected in constituencies located in counties that would gain seats. Violent unrest in urban but not in rural areas had some influence on the members of Parliament. Counterfactual scenarios suggest that the reform bill would not have obtained a majority in the House of Commons in the absence of these factors.
ISSN:0022-0507
1471-6372
DOI:10.1017/S0022050719000342