Since voters presumably make their voting choices based on the policy positions of the parties they have to choose from, it follows that systematic analysis of party competition is made significantly more difficult without reliable information on the policy positions of political parties. In this work, Benoit (political science, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland) and Laver (politics, New York U., US) address this problem by presenting the results of a systematic survey of country specialists that were tasked with identifying the policy positions of parties in 47 countries around the world. The policy dimensions chosen for examination include a "core set" relating to policy on the economy, issues such as abortion and gay rights, environmental matters, and the decentralization of decision making, along with select country or region specific dimensions such a immigration, deregulation, European Union issues, health care, media freedom, and foreign ownership of land. After considering possible applications of their work and presenting and defending their methodology, they summarize some of the main empirical patterns found through the survey. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
