When the Agent Knows Better than the Principal: The Effect of Education and Seniority on European Parliament Rapporteur Assignment

Abstract:

This article examines the assignment of legislative rapporteurships to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Original data sources are used to test the assumption that committee reports are routinely awarded to MEPs with higher levels of education and seniority at the European level. The hypotheses are supported by an extensive multivariate regression analysis, which also demonstrates the increasing value of rapporteurships, following the initiation of Parliament's veto player status under co-decision. The article surpasses existing accounts of committee work in the European Parliament to include data on the individual balance of legislative power for the legislature's full history, 1979–2009.