The Higher the Better? A Comparative Analysis of Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Human Capital of German Federal Government Members
Scharfenkamp Katrin, Dilger Alexander,
Research article (journal) | Peer reviewedAbstract
Are the highest politicians better qualified than their peers? In this article, we analyze differences between chancellors, vice chancellors, and ministers of the inner or residual cabinets of the German federal governments between 1949 and 2009 with respect to their social backgrounds and educational, economic, as well as political human capital. Different statistical methods reveal no clear primacy of chancellors or vice chancellors over other members of government. Interestingly, inner cabinets have higher qualifications than residual cabinets, as well as partly chancellors and vice chancellors.
Details about the publication
Journal: German Politics and Society
Volume: 32
Issue: 4
Page range: 21-38
Status: Published
Release year: 2014
Language in which the publication is written: English
Link to the full text: http://berghahn.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/berghahn/gerpol/2014/00000032/00000004/art00002
Keywords: German federal government; human capital; leaders; politicians; sociodemographic characteristics
Authors from the University of Münster
| Dilger, Alexander | Institute for Organisational Economics (IO) |
| Scharfenkamp, Katrin | Institute for Organisational Economics (IO) |