Do parties and voters reward parliamentary behavior? Evidence from Estonia

While a wide range of literature has discussed how institutional incentives account for variation in the parliamentary behavior of members of parliament (MPs), it is less clear whether election-oriented strategies are eventually effective. The paper addresses this puzzle by looking into the electoral consequences of the parliamentary behavior of legislators. Specifically, we examine whether MPs' parliamentary activism affects their consequent performance at the candidate nomination process and at the electoral stage. We use a dataset covering bill initiation, legislative debates, and questions to ministers over the 2015 and 2019 parliamentary terms in Estonia alongside the party and individual-level characteristics. The results of statistical analysis show that parties and voters reward more active behavior, although the extent varies across the types of parliamentary activities and the two examined elections. These signs of parties’ and voters’ retrospective evaluation of parliamentary work have implications for understanding the mechanisms of delegation and accountability in representative democracies.