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Brexit and the relevance of regional personality traits: more psychological Openness could have swung the regional vote

Author

Listed:
  • Harry Garretsen
  • Janka I Stoker
  • Dimitrios Soudis
  • Ron L Martin
  • Peter Jason Rentfrow

Abstract

This article adds a psychological perspective to help explain the regional Brexit vote. Based on an extensive dataset with personality traits, combined with socio-economic data, our findings suggest that the regional clustering of these personality traits contribute to an understanding of the regional dispersion of the Brexit vote. We find evidence that psychological ‘Openness’ is the personality trait that matters most and that modest changes in this trait could actually have swung the vote across UK districts. Moreover, the relevance of psychological Openness solves the puzzle that UK districts that are relatively dependent on trade with the EU predominantly voted for Leave. By including psychological factors, our results show how we can arrive at a better understanding of the geography of the discontent with globalisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Harry Garretsen & Janka I Stoker & Dimitrios Soudis & Ron L Martin & Peter Jason Rentfrow, 2018. "Brexit and the relevance of regional personality traits: more psychological Openness could have swung the regional vote," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(1), pages 165-175.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:165-175.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cjres/rsx031
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lewis Dijkstra & Hugo Poelman & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2020. "The geography of EU discontent," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(6), pages 737-753, June.
    2. Barry Eichengreen & Rebecca Maria Mari & Gregory Thwaites, 2021. "Will Brexit Age Well? Cohorts, Seasoning and the Age–Leave Gradient: On the Evolution of UK Support for the European Union," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(352), pages 1130-1143, October.
    3. Bachtrögler, Julia & Oberhofer, Harald, 2018. "Euroscepticism and EU Cohesion Policy: The Impact of Micro-Level Policy Effectiveness on Voting Behavior," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 273, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    4. Eichengreen, Barry & Mari, Rebecca & Thwaites, Gregory, 2018. "Will Brexit Age Well? Cohorts, Seasoning and the Age-Leave Gradient, Past, Present and Future," CEPR Discussion Papers 13288, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Eveline S. van Leeuwen & Solmaria Halleck Vega & Vera Hogenboom, 2021. "Does population decline lead to a “populist voting mark‐up”? A case study of the Netherlands," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 279-301, April.
    6. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen & Tristan Kohl, 2023. "EXITitis in the UK: Gravity Estimates in the Aftermath of Brexit," De Economist, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 185-206, June.
    7. Michael Kenny & Davide Luca, 2020. "Populism Amidst Prosperity:The urban-rural polarisation of political disenchantment: An investigation of social and political attitudes in 30 European countries," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 161, European Institute, LSE.
    8. Pinar Deniz & Burhan Can Karahasan & Mehmet Pinar, 2021. "Determinants of regional distribution of AKP votes: Analysis of post‐2002 parliamentary elections," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 323-352, April.
    9. Drinkwater, Stephen & Blackaby, David H. & Robinson, Catherine, 2024. "What Mattered Most in the Brexit Vote? Evidence from Detailed Regression and Decomposition Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 16841, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Maria Abreu & Özge Öner, 2020. "Disentangling the Brexit vote: The role of economic, social and cultural contexts in explaining the UK’s EU referendum vote," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1434-1456, October.
    11. Kenny, Michael & Luca, Davide, 2021. "The urban-rural polarisation of political disenchantment: an investigation of social and political attitudes in 30 European countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112683, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Aronsson, Thomas & Hetschko, Clemens & Schöb, Ronnie, 2020. "Globalization, Time-Preferences, and Populist Voting," Umeå Economic Studies 978, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    13. Aronsson, Thomas & Hetschko, Clemens & Schöb, Ronnie, 2023. "Populism and Impatience," Umeå Economic Studies 1019, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    14. Hans Westlund & Kamila Borsekova, 2023. "Rural problems, policies and possibilities in a post‐urban world," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 717-728, May.

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