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To swing or not to swing: an assessment of age and political cynicism of swing voting behaviour

Author

Listed:
  • Damon Proulx

    (University of Newcastle, Australia: College of Social and Human Futures, Newcastle Business School.)

  • David Alan Savage

    (University of Newcastle, Australia: College of Social and Human Futures, Newcastle Business School.)

  • David Stadelmann

    (Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany: Faculty of Law, Business & Economics)

  • Benno Torgler

    (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia: School of Economics and Finance)

Abstract

The empirical question of voting preferences and how these may change (swing) is yet to be answered, as there is little first-hand microeconomic evidence on swing voting. We focus on the relevance of voters' age and political cynicism as predictors for swing voting. Towards this end, we apply a stated and revealed preference framework to assess swing voting, using data from the Dutch Parliamentary Election Survey (DPES) between 1989 to 2010. Our results indicate that swing voting is less likely to occur in older age groups and more likely among individuals with higher levels of political cynicism. The age effects tend to be stronger among those with lower political cynicism values.

Suggested Citation

  • Damon Proulx & David Alan Savage & David Stadelmann & Benno Torgler, 2025. "To swing or not to swing: an assessment of age and political cynicism of swing voting behaviour," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(3), pages 1630-1635.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-25-00517
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John C. Goodman & Philip K. Porter, 2021. "Will quadratic voting produce optimal public policy?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 141-148, January.
    2. Alan S. Gerber & Dean Karlan & Daniel Bergan, 2009. "Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 35-52, April.
    3. Amartya K. Sen, 1971. "Choice Functions and Revealed Preference," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(3), pages 307-317.
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    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics

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