Exploring the distribution of within-party positions using candidate VAA data.

Exploring elite position-taking cross-nationally is notoriously difficult. A key problem is that it is difficult to get a behavioral measure that can be compared across countries. In this paper we address the problem using data on candidate positions in Voting Advice Applications (VAAs). The dataset is composed of a large number of positions that a large number of party candidates have taken in public on similar issues. Using this dataset, we explore institutional, and other, determinants of within-party variation in the candidate position distribution.