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Voting Green

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  • Travis G. Coan
  • Mirya R. Holman

Abstract

Objectives. Economics, partisanship, and demographics have all been identified as linked to support for environmental protection. The principal objective of this study is to extend the extant literature by using a larger data set and a variety of methods. Methods. We use variety of statistical methods to test measures of party strength, demographics, and economics against county‐level data from 29 environmental initiative elections in 13 states. Results. Democratic partisanship is the most consistent predictor of aggregate support for environmental measures. This trend holds through pooled, individual‐level, and ecological inference analysis. Median family income and income squared are consistently significant, as is education. Conclusion. Based on these data, we reach three general conclusions. First, while several variables are consistently significant, party strength is the most consistent predictor of pro‐environmental voting across states and initiatives. Second, our analyses suggest that limiting analyses to data from a single state or region may have important implications for statistical inferences. Lastly, a preliminary analysis using methods of ecological inference suggests that the aggregate results are robust to ecological problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Travis G. Coan & Mirya R. Holman, 2008. "Voting Green," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1121-1135, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:89:y:2008:i:5:p:1121-1135
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00564.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Howell‐Moroney, 2004. "What Are the Determinants of Open‐Space Ballot Measures? An Extension of the Research," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 85(1), pages 169-179, March.
    2. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Powers, Shawn M., 2006. "Explaining the appearance and success of voter referenda for open-space conservation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 373-390, July.
    3. Deacon, Robert T & Shapiro, Perry, 1975. "Private Preference for Collective Goods Revealed Through Voting on Referenda," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(5), pages 943-955, December.
    4. Matthew E. Kahn, 2002. "Demographic change and the demand for environmental regulation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(1), pages 45-62.
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    3. Wiggins, Seth, 2016. "It’s All Local? How Sub-State Policies Affect Western US Residential Solar Adoption," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235667, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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