Distributing chairs and seats in committees: A parliamentary perspective

Abstract

This article presents an argument for committee assignments based not on the traditional congressional theories, but on elements central to parliamentary systems: government formation. The argument of the article is that it is necessary to include the link between committees and cabinet governance for understanding parliamentary committees. This is tested on 40 years of committee assignments from the Danish parliament. The findings suggest that an approach inspired by a classic portfolio allocation model works best in explaining the distribution of seats and chairs between parties. Shadowing of coalition partners appears to matter little, if at all.