fractionalization {politicsR}

Fractionalization Index

Description

'fractionalization()' calculates the rate of electoral fractionalization according to Douglas Rae's (1968) formula.

Usage

fractionalization(x)

Arguments

x

(numeric). A numeric vector in the form of a proportion of votes or seats. The vector should range from 0 to 1.

Value

Returns a numerical vector with the estimate of party fractionalization. The result of the index is a value between 0 and 1. The closer to zero, the lower the fractionalization; the closer to 1, the higher the fractionalization.

References

Rae, D. (1968). A note on the fractionalization of some European party systems. Comparative Political Studies, 1(3), 413-418.

Examples

fractionalization(c(0.2, 0.3, 0.5))