Chapter 11 Multiple choice questions

. Which of these actors is NOT a veto player?

The smallest cabinet party in a minimum winning coalition.

The largest opposition party in parliament with a majority government.

An upper house that is necessary to pass legislation.

The European Parliament when passing EU legislation.

. Which of the following systems has a unicameral legislature?

Sweden

Italy

Germany

European Union

. What is known as the pareto set in legislative decision-making?

The set of actors that profit from a change in the status quo.

The set of parties that are ideologically closest to the prime minister party.

The set of policies that can beat the status quo legislation.

The set of policies that veto players cannot agree to change.

. What is ministerial autonomy?

Ministers have some degree of discretion in running their policy area.

Ministers cannot be held accountable for wrong-doing in office.

Ministers often do not vote with the government coalition in parliament.

Only ministers can propose legislation in their policy area.

. The graph below is similar to Figure 11.2, but uses a different hypothetical status quo. In this case, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A graph plots immigration policy on the vertical axis versus social policy on the horizontal axis. Two points are marked on each axis. On the vertical axis, the points are policy with M 5 S immigration minister and policy with Lega immigration minister, from bottom to top. On the horizontal axis, the points are policy with M 5 S labour and social minister and policy with Lega labour policy and social minister, from left to right. Five points are plotted on the graph as follows. M 5 S is plotted at (M 5 S immigration, M 5 S social). Lega is plotted at (Lega social, Lega immigration). Cabinet A is plotted at (M 5 S social, Lega immigration). Cabinet B is plotted at (Lega social, M 5 S immigration). Coalition Agreement is plotted halfway between M 5 S and Lega on social policy and halfway between M 5 S and Lega on immigration policy. A large circle is drawn around points M 5 S, Cabinet A, Cabinet B, and Coalition Agreement. A smaller overlapping circle is drawn up and to the right around points Lega, Cabinet A, and Coalition Agreement. A sixth point, S Q, is plotted where the two circles overlap, just right of Lega on the horizontal axis and just above M 5 S on the vertical axis.

Cabinet A is preferred by both parties over the Status Quo.

The Coalition Agreement makes M5S much better off than the status quo, while it only does so marginally for Lega.

If cabinet A gets instituted, the minister responsible would propose social policy that is in line with Lega preferences.

If cabinet B gets instituted, the minister responsible would propose immigration policy that makes Lega worse off than the status quo.

. The Figure below describes a government formation similar to Figure 11.2 in the book, but this time focusing on foreign and environmental policy. Note that on these policy dimensions, the parties actually have different positions than before and also the Status Quo has changed. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

The graph plots Immigration policy, versus Social policy. M 5 S is at Policy with M 5 S labour and social minister, Policy with M 5 S immigration minister. Cabinet B is at Policy with Lega labour and social minister, Policy with M 5 S immigration minister. Cabinet A is at Policy with M 5 S labour and social minister, Policy with Lega immigration minister. Lega is at Policy with Lega labour and social minister, Policy with Lega immigration minister. A circle is drawn with M 5 S at the center. Coalition Agreement is a point in the lower half of the rectangle that connects Cabinet A, Lega, Cabinet B, M 5 S.

Both parties prefer Cabinet B to the Status Quo.

If the parties choose Cabinet B, Lega will get exactly what they want on the environmental policy dimension.

In the coalition agreement, both parties give concessions in relationship to their preferred policy outcomes.

M5S prefers cabinet A to the status quo.

. Which statement about parliamentary policing is FALSE?

Coalition parties can enforce a coalition compromise in parliament.

The government's ability to curtail parliamentary debate is an indicator of a weak parliament.

Correspondence of parliamentary committee jurisdiction and that of a ministry means committee members can scrutinize government business.

France, Ireland, and the UK have strong parliamentary policing institutions.

. What is a feature of a pluralist interest group system?

Some interest groups have privileged access to policy-making.

Labour unions and business groups need to be consulted prior to law-making.

Different interest groups compete for the attention of politicians.

Interest groups always employ outside lobbying strategies.

. What is the role of national parliaments in EU legislative decision-making?

They can check the subsidiarity of the Commission proposal.

They can force the Commission to withdraw the proposal.

They have veto power of EU legislation.

They can make legislative proposals for new EU laws.

. What were the key institutional changes to the EU's legislative decision-making procedure introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon?

A raising of the qualified majority voting threshold in the Council and an extension of the EP's veto power to more policy areas.

A lowering of the qualified majority voting threshold in the Council and an extension of the EP's veto power to more policy areas.

A lowering of the qualified majority voting threshold in the Council and a limitation of the EP's veto power to fewer policy areas.

A raising of the qualified majority voting threshold in the Council and a limitation of the EP's veto power to fewer policy areas.

Quiz Content