New Books Network Lucia Motolinia, "Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Mar 24, 2026
Lucia Motolinia, political scientist and author studying electoral reform effects in Mexico. She discusses how re-election rules and party control interact. She explores staggered reforms as a natural experiment. She contrasts primaries and party appointments. She explains why reforms can boost party loyalty while shaping targeted, particularistic responsiveness.
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Staggered Reform Rollouts Help Identify Causal Effects
- Staggered rollouts of institutional change allow causal inference by providing contemporaneous treated and control legislators.
- This design helps separate effects of re-election incentives from selection of inherently stronger politicians.
Candidate Selection Rules Redirect Legislator Incentives
- Institutional rules beyond voting—like candidate selection and campaign funding—shape whether legislators target parties or voters.
- Example: primaries push legislators toward voters, party appointments push them to satisfy party leaders and selectorates.
How Mexico Created A Natural Experiment For Re-election
- Mexico's 2014 reform lifted an 80-year ban on consecutive legislative re-election and let states choose when to implement it.
- Staggered state adoption created a natural experiment comparing legislators with and without re-election incentives in the same period.
