Random interactions in the Chamber: Legislators’ behavior and political distance

I investigate the role of social interaction among Members of Parliament (MPs) and the impact of such interaction on the political distance between parties. Using the random allocation of seats in the Icelandic Parliament, I find that MP's voting and speech behaviors are affected by the behavior of legislators seated nearby. I also show that greater (random) exposure to MPs from different parties ultimately reduces the political distance between parties. Similar evidence is found using historical data for the U.S. House of Representatives, by exploiting the introduction of a lottery mechanism to determine desk assignments in 1845. I argue that random seating arrangements could constitute a low-cost way of reducing differences within the political arena.