Deliberation as Words, Arguments, and Themes

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter analyses the content of select committee hearings on monetary policy, financial stability, and fiscal policy, focusing on the verbatim transcripts for these hearings and using quantitative text analysis. The focus is on the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee and the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee during the 2010–15 Parliament. Patterns of deliberation are identified across the three policy areas and the two parliamentary chambers. Using the metrics of non-partisanship and reciprocity, the findings reveal that deliberative accountability is of highest quality in monetary policy hearings and of lowest quality in fiscal policy hearings, with financial stability hearings falling midway between. Differences in deliberative accountability across parliamentary chambers are also explored.