How to Become a Politician? The Role of Educational Background and Academic Achievement in Romania

Abstract

The present work analyses the theoretical perspectives on the role education plays in the formation and recruitment of politicians in Romania. We have analyzed the legislative mandates of the parliamentarians of the Chamber of Deputies from the 2004-2008, 2008-2012, and 2012- 2016 periods, whose mandates overlapped with two types of electoral systems. Additionally, we have analyzed the CVs of the parliamentarians who, in 2016-2020, ran as number one nominees on party lists of both the Social Democrat and the National Liberal parties. In this analysis, we took into account the validity of the degrees they received from Romanian universities, as well as the number of degrees: Bachelor’s Degree, Masters’s Degree, Ph.D. From the capital theory standpoint, we noticed that there is a two-way transaction between the political capital and the educational capital. The results highlight that the parties opted for a negative selection education-wise of those nominated to occupy a Parliamentary seat or a public office.