Unequal Representation in Switzerland

Abstract

This chapter analyses whether the policy preferences of citizens systematically vary with their income; whether a bias in representation can be found across income groups in the relevant policy domains; and whether differences in policy congruence between poor and rich citizens can be explained by their levels of political participation and information. The empirical analyses demonstrate that regarding the policy domains in which the preferences of citizens are clearly linked to economic divides – redistribution and social security in particular – members of the Federal Assembly have policy preferences that are less in favour of the state’s intervention in the economy than are the opinions of citizens. The under-representation of the opinions of relatively poor citizens, and of those in the middle of the income distribution, can only partially be explained by differences in political participation and political information across income groups.