Why Do We Use Gallagher's Proportionality Index?

Autor principal:
Alberto Penadés (Universidad de Salamanca)
Programa:
Sesión 5, Sesión 5
Día: jueves, 8 de julio de 2021
Hora: 11:00 a 12:45
Lugar: Online

Gallagher's Index for disproportionality is the most widely used in the literature and was intrudiced as an improvement on previous existing indexes and as a more "neutral" index than others that, supposedly, were biased towards specific allocation formulas. Yet, it is widely understood today that it measures essentially the same thing as other similar indexes based on the Euclidian distance between votes amnd seats; and it is also understood that the race for the most proportional formula cannot be refereed by a neutran idex, for there is none. At the same time, there is very valuable information in the classic Loosemore-Hanby index (the aggregate absolute distance) that is lost in Gallaghher's: the separability of the non represented parties from the represented ones; and, most importantly, in its application to districted electoral systems, the separability of the components relative to different causes of disproportionality.

Palabras clave: representacion proporcional, índices