Who changed parties during the Great Recession? A study of 12 Western European countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/ris.2020.78.3.19.015Keywords:
Economic voting, Electoral volatility, Europe, Parties, Party identificationAbstract
Levels of electoral volatility after the 2008 Great Recession were record in most Western European countries. The main causes of this electoral instability were the negative development of the economy, the crisis of the traditional political parties and the changes in the issues of political competition. At the individual level, it is not clear what factors lead voters to change partisan preferences after the Great Recession. In addition, in general terms, little is known about the differences between a stable voter and a volatile one. This study, for 12 Western European countries after the economic crisis, concludes that the economic voter model did not always explain the change of party preference after 2008, while sentiments of political dissatisfaction would help us to understand the change of parties between elections.
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