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Technological Progress and Political Disengagement

Author

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  • Daryna Grechyna

    (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.)

Abstract

This paper postulates the existence of a negative relationship between technological progress and citizens’ political engagement in developed economies. Theoretically, technological progress decreases the citizen relative utility from political participation. Empirically, the data covering a large sample of individuals in European regions and a sample of individuals from British regions suggests that regional technological progress reduces the probability that an individual supports any political party, controlling for a wide range of individual and regional characteristics. These findings are consistent with decreasing voter turnout and a rise in political populism observed in many institutionalized democracies.

Suggested Citation

  • Daryna Grechyna, 2020. "Technological Progress and Political Disengagement," ThE Papers 20/04, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    • Handle: RePEc:gra:wpaper:20/04
    as

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    File URL: http://www.ugr.es/~teoriahe/RePEc/gra/wpaper/thepapers20_04.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rehan Tariq & Izzal Asnira Zolkepli & Mahyuddin Ahmad, 2022. "Political Participation of Young Voters: Tracing Direct and Indirect Effects of Social Media and Political Orientations," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    technological progress; political interests; political disenfranchisement; voter turnout; survey data.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General

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