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Ideology and the rationality of non-voting

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  • François Facchini

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Louis Jaeck

    (UAEU - College of Business and Economics, Accounting Department (United Arab Emirates University))

Abstract

What is the theoretical impact of the erosion of partisan ties on electoral abstention? This question comes from Downs–North’s theory of political ideology, which is a tool to reduce the cost of understanding the political debates. Then, when the left–right political divide becomes less visible, the costs of understanding political debates rise and electoral abstention occurs. This interpretation of abstention has three implications: first, it shows that among the multiple reasons responsible for the ‘democratic crisis’ in France, the weakening of the traditional notion of the left and the right is significant. Second, it highlights that voters’ level of education and the Downsian theory of programme convergence affect electoral behaviours and political entrepreneurship. Third, it explains why the relationship between abstention and economic crisis is nonlinear.
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Suggested Citation

  • François Facchini & Louis Jaeck, 2019. "Ideology and the rationality of non-voting," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02095807, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-02095807
    DOI: 10.1177/1043463119841033
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Holger Reinermann, 2022. "Party competition and the structuring of party preferences by the left-right dimension," Rationality and Society, , vol. 34(2), pages 185-217, May.
    2. François Facchini & Louis Jaeck, 2021. "Populism and the rational choice model: The case of the French National Front," Rationality and Society, , vol. 33(2), pages 196-228, May.
    3. Colin Jennings & Elizabeth Ralph-Morrow, 2020. "Selective tolerance and the radical right," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(2), pages 144-167, May.
    4. Alexandre Chirat & Cyril Hédoin, 2023. "Toward an economic theory of populism: Uncertainty, Information, and Public Interest in Downs’s Political Economy," EconomiX Working Papers 2023-16, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.

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