The Economy and the Vote: Economic Conditions and Elections in F

Cambridge University Press

The Economy and the VoteEconomic Conditions and Elections in Fifteen Countries\nAuthor(s): Wouter van der Brug, Cees van der EijK, Mark Franklin\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521863742, 978-0521863742\nSynopsis\nEconomic conditions are said to affect election outcomes, but past research has produced unstable and contradictory findings. This book argues that these problems are caused by the failure to take account of electoral competition between parties. A research strategy to correct this problem is designed and applied to investigate effects of economic conditions on (individual) voter choices and (aggregate) election outcomes over 42 elections in 15 countries. It shows that economic conditions exert small effects on individual party preferences, which can have large consequences for election outcomes. In countries where responsibility for economic policy is clear, voters vote retrospectiv.