IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ieaple/v25y2025i3d10.1007_s10784-025-09666-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unrepresentedness, climate concern and voting behavior: understanding youth voter turnout in European elections

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Cascavilla

    (Unitelma Sapienza University of Rome)

Abstract

Participation in European elections has been declining over the last decades, especially among young citizens. In order to invert this trend, it is essential to understand what brings young voters to participate in the European Parliament (EP) elections. This study investigates the determinants of 2024 European Parliament elections turnout across young electors, addressing for scarcely explored determinants such as the perception of being unrepresented and the individual climate change concern, as well as controlling for political, institutional, and socio-economic factors. Conducting an original survey across 1642 young Italian citizens, the results show that the likelihood of voting in EP elections is positively associated with the presence of concurrent elections, it is larger across subjects who tend to be more informed, who show higher trust in European Parliament, and those who declare a larger individual’s climate change concern. On the contrary, there are high abstention levels among citizens reporting they feel underrepresented, evidencing the potential self-reinforcing cycle of political disengagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Cascavilla, 2025. "Unrepresentedness, climate concern and voting behavior: understanding youth voter turnout in European elections," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 343-358, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:25:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10784-025-09666-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-025-09666-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10784-025-09666-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10784-025-09666-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frey, Bruno S. & Torgler, Benno, 2007. "Tax morale and conditional cooperation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 136-159, March.
    2. Robert Brulle & Jason Carmichael & J. Jenkins, 2012. "Shifting public opinion on climate change: an empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the U.S., 2002–2010," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 169-188, September.
    3. Peter Selb, 2008. "Supersized votes: ballot length, uncertainty, and choice in direct legislation elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 319-336, June.
    4. Cheung, Millissa F.Y. & To, W.M., 2019. "An extended model of value-attitude-behavior to explain Chinese consumers’ green purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 145-153.
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/61ih2qtadc8g1894enmudd2f09 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Alessandro Cascavilla & Jordi Ripollés & Andrea Morone, 2024. "Tax morale and social capital: An empirical investigation among European citizens," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 441-476, June.
    7. Houser, Daniel & Morton, Rebecca & Stratmann, Thomas, 2011. "Turned on or turned out? Campaign advertising, information and voting," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 708-727.
    8. Richard McKelvey & Peter Ordeshook, 1984. "Rational expectations in elections: some experimental results based on a multidimensional model," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 61-102, January.
    9. Cascavilla, Alessandro, 2024. "Between money and speculative asset: The role of financial literacy on the perception towards Bitcoin in Italy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    10. Sayantan Ghosal & Ben Lockwood, 2009. "Costly voting when both information and preferences differ: is turnout too high or too low?," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 33(1), pages 25-50, June.
    11. Roman Hoffmann & Raya Muttarak & Jonas Peisker & Piero Stanig, 2022. "Climate change experiences raise environmental concerns and promote Green voting," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(2), pages 148-155, February.
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/61ih2qtadc8g1894enmudd2f09 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Alessandro Cascavilla, 2023. "Does climate change concern alter individual tax preferences? Evidence from an Italian survey," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 50(8), pages 1601-1617, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zohal Hessami, 2016. "How Do Voters React to Complex Choices in a Direct Democracy? Evidence from Switzerland," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 263-293, May.
    2. Cesar Martinelli & Thomas R. Palfrey, 2017. "Communication and Information in Games of Collective Decision: A Survey of Experimental Results," Working Papers 1065, George Mason University, Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science.
    3. Emőke Kiss & Dániel Balla & András Donát Kovács, 2022. "Characteristics of Climate Concern—Attitudes and Personal Actions—A Case Study of Hungarian Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Lars P. Feld & Benno Torgler, 2007. "Tax Morale after the Reunification of Germany: Results from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," CREMA Working Paper Series 2007-03, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    5. Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2026. "Environment vs. economic growth: Do environmental preferences translate into support for Green parties?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    6. Fábio Pereira Silva & Reinaldo Guerreiro & Eduardo Flores, 2019. "Voluntary versus enforced tax compliance: the slippery slope framework in the Brazilian context," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(2), pages 147-180, June.
    7. Laure Kuhfuss & Raphaële Préget & Sophie Thoyer & Nick Hanley & Philippe Le Coent & Mathieu Désolé, 2016. "Nudges, Social Norms, and Permanence in Agri-environmental Schemes," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 92(4), pages 641-655.
    8. Joshua Aizenman & Yothin Jinjarak, 2012. "Income Inequality, Tax Base and Sovereign Spreads," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 68(4), pages 431-444, December.
    9. Shelley Boulianne & Mireille Lalancette & David Ilkiw, 2020. "“School Strike 4 Climate”: Social Media and the International Youth Protest on Climate Change," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 208-218.
    10. European Commission, 2013. "Tax reforms in EU Member States - Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability – 2013 Report," Taxation Papers 38, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    11. Guglielmo Zappalà, 2023. "Drought Exposure and Accuracy: Motivated Reasoning in Climate Change Beliefs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(3), pages 649-672, August.
    12. Christopher Jeffords, 2014. "Preference-directed regulation when ethical environmental policy choices are formed with limited information," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 573-606, March.
    13. Ojala, Hannu & Malo, Pekka & Penttinen, Esko, 2023. "Private firms’ tax aggressiveness and lightweight pre-tax-audit interventions by the tax administration," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    14. León, Gianmarco, 2017. "Turnout, political preferences and information: Experimental evidence from Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 56-71.
    15. Fernanda L L de Leon, 2013. "Adding Ideology to the Equation: New Predictions for Election Results under Compulsory Voting," University of East Anglia Applied and Financial Economics Working Paper Series 044, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    16. Baghdasaryan, Vardan & Iannantuoni, Giovanna & Maggian, Valeria, 2019. "Electoral fraud and voter turnout: An experimental study," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 203-219.
    17. Chakravarty, Surajeet & Kaplan, Todd R. & Myles, Gareth, 2018. "When costly voting is beneficial," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 33-42.
    18. Ronconi, Lucas & Zarazaga S.J., Rodrigo, 2015. "Labor Exclusion and the Erosion of Citizenship Responsibilities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 453-461.
    19. Henrik Serup Christensen & Lauri Rapeli, 2021. "Immediate rewards or delayed gratification? A conjoint survey experiment of the public’s policy preferences," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(1), pages 63-94, March.
    20. Claudia Keser & David Masclet & Claude Montmarquette, 2020. "Labor Supply, Taxation, and the Use of Tax Revenues: A Real-Effort Experiment in Canada, France, and Germany," Public Finance Review, , vol. 48(6), pages 714-750, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:25:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10784-025-09666-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.