On the measurement of voter ideology

Abstract

We propose a novel measure of voter ideology and study the (socio-economic) determinants of political beliefs. We examine the dimensionality of contemporary voter ideology using survey data of a representative sample of Dutch citizens. Using factor-analyses, we identify and validate four relevant dimensions that capture (1) preferences for economic equality, (2) preferences for markets and efficiency, (3) preferences for personal and cultural freedom, and (4) nationalist, protectionist and populist preferences. We continue with a regression analysis on the determinants of multidimensional voter ideology and compare these to the determinants of the traditional leftright measure of ideology. We find that there is substantial heterogeneity in the determinants of political preferences. Moreover, using a one-dimensional left-right representation of voter ideology conceals most of this heterogeneity.

Ideology as Filter: Motivated Information Processing and Decision-Making in the Energy Domain

“…In our study political ideology was measured on a continuum from liberal to conservative. Even though the liberal-conservative dimension is the most commonly applied dimension in the study of political ideology, it may reflect the multi-party political landscape in Switzerland to a lesser extent than a left-right continuum [51]. Our operationalization may have resulted in a lower validity of the assessment of political ideology and thus in smaller effect sizes.…”

Shades of red and blue: government ideology and sustainable development

“…For the subset of OECD countries and for individual countries (such as the United States and Canada), more refined classifications of party ideology exist (seeBjørnskov 2005Bjørnskov , 2008 Potrafke 2012, 2013;Lamérisa et al 2018).…”

Economic liberalization, political regimes and ideology

“…Parties and voters exhibit multidimensional political attitudes and preferences, as such, labelling authoritarian regimes and populist parties as right‐ or left‐wing is highly subjective and in some cases harder than classifying mainstream democratic parties. For instance, Laméris et al (2018) validate four relevant dimensions: economic equality; markets and efficiency; personal and cultural freedom; and nationalist, protectionist and populist preferences. Although, the right/left divide still remains much prevalent in modern societies and provides some important insights into policy decision making, some governments are not ideologically identifiable.…”