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Who is left-wing, and who just thinks they are?

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  • James Rockey

Abstract

A common assumption in political economy is that there exists a consistent and well defined policy space. Often, this space is assumed to be adequately represented by a single `left' - `right' dimension. This paper makes the case that it is not only convenient but also meaningful to talk of the left and the right. Motivated, in part, by recent work in political psychology, this paper compares how individuals place themselves on a left-right scale with their answers to substantive policy questions, to provide evidence that the left-right scale has a consistent meaning across time and place. It is also finds consistent differences in how different demographic groups perceive the `left'-`right' continuum. In particular, it finds important differences associated with ageing, gender, income and education. It provides evidence that this is true for both abstract alternatives and concrete choices, questions of redistribution and broader conceptions of social justice. Heterogeneity is taken seriously, analysing variation within cohorts defined by country, date of birth, and gender - a variety of different forms are hypothesised, tested for, and rejected. Finally, it provides evidence that increases in income may lead to increased levels of political polarisation.

Suggested Citation

  • James Rockey, 2009. "Who is left-wing, and who just thinks they are?," Discussion Papers in Economics 09/23, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester, revised Feb 2014.
  • Handle: RePEc:lec:leecon:09/23
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    File URL: https://www.le.ac.uk/economics/research/RePEc/lec/leecon/dp09-23.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Do people think of themselves as further left than they really are?
      by Chris Bertram in Crooked Timber on 2010-08-02 22:36:40

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    Cited by:

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    2. McKenzie, David & Ozler, Berk, 2011. "The impact of economics blogs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5783, The World Bank.
    3. David McKenzie & Berk Özler, 2014. "Quantifying Some of the Impacts of Economics Blogs," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(3), pages 567-597.
    4. Lindov, Dalila, 2020. "Teachers and politics," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

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    Keywords

    Ideology; Voter Preferences; Voting; Polarization;
    All these keywords.

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