Economic Voting in EU Referendums: Sociotropic versus Egocentric Voting in the Lisbon Treaty Plebiscites in Ireland

Journal article | Zeitschriftenartikel

Economic voting is one of the most studied aspects of electoral behaviour. The dominant view is that sociotropic economic considerations are more important to voters in national elections. However, other research suggests that utilitarian motiva- tions are key to understanding support for the EU. An EU integration referendum offers the opportunity to explore whether and when sociotropic or utilitarian motivations are more important in determining vote choice. The unusual combination of two successive referendums in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty, either side of the Global Financial Crisis, provides the ideal opportunity to test these assumptions. Using data from two post-referendum surveys, we demonstrate that the economy mattered in both referendums but that different economic motivations drove vote choice in each, with sociotropic motiva- tions more critical as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. Our study has implications for economic voting and referendums and demonstrates that context is crucial in determining a voter’s economic motivations in a plebiscite.

Angaben zum Objekt

• ISSN: 2183-2463
• Umfang: Seite(n): 334-350
• Sprache: Englisch
• Anmerkungen: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Politics and Governance, 7(2)

Klassifikation und Themen

• Thema: Politikwissenschaft ; politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur ; Lissabon-Vertrag ; Finanzkrise ; Volksentscheid ; Wahlverhalten ; Irland ; Wähler ; Motivation ; Analyse ; wirtschaftliche Lage ; prosoziales Verhalten ; Utilitarismus ; europäische Integration ; Volkswirtschaft ; wirtschaftliche Faktoren ; politische Situation

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Elkink, Johan A. ; Quinlan, Stephen ; Sinnott, Richard
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wo): Portugal
• (wann): 2019

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i2.1944
• Rechteinformation: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Bibliothek Köln
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 21.06.2024, 16:27 MESZ