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Inequality and elections in Italian regions

Author

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  • Bloise, Francesco
  • Chironi, Daniela
  • Pianta, Mario

Abstract

The evolution of voting in Italy’s general elections from 1994 to 2018 is investigated in this paper at the regional level, exploring the role of inequality, changes in incomes, wealth levels, precarisation of jobs and unemployment. Using a novel regional database combining voting results, incomes of employees and household revenues and wealth, we explore the drivers of non-voting, and of the shares of votes for mainstream parties, Lega and Five Star Movement in total electors. The results of our econometric models show that inequality, lack of wealth and precarisation are closely associated to the regional patterns of Italy’s electoral change. While political, ideological and cultural variables are important factors in Italy’s political upheaval, economic conditions appear to play a key role.

Suggested Citation

  • Bloise, Francesco & Chironi, Daniela & Pianta, Mario, 2019. "Inequality and elections in Italian regions," MPRA Paper 96416, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:96416
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Proaño Acosta, Christian & Peña, Juan Carlos & Saalfeld, Thomas, 2020. "Inequality, macroeconomic performance and political polarization: A panel analysis of 20 advanced democracies," BERG Working Paper Series 157, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
    2. Eugenio Levi & Fabrizio Patriarca, 2020. "An exploratory study of populism: the municipality-level predictors of electoral outcomes in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 833-875, October.
    3. Marcon, Giulio, 2021. "La ricchezza in Italia Rapporto di ricerca [Wealth in Italy. Research Report]," MPRA Paper 107809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Ferrante, Livio & Reito, Francesco & Spagano, Salvatore & Torrisi, Gianpiero, 2021. "Shall we follow the money? Anti-mafia policies and electoral competition," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 1110-1130.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; elections; Italian regions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies

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