Dual Vote and Differential Abstention. A Study About the Electoral Behaviour in Catalonia
Universitat Pompeu Fabra Working Paper No. 465
39 Pages Posted: 30 Aug 2000
Date Written: undated
Abstract
This article presents the results of an empirical study about the reasons of the systematic change in the electoral results in Catalonia according to the type of elections. The hypothesis, positively tested with data from the period 1982-1993, is that the victory of the nationalist centre-right party in the autonomous elections in a region where always wins the socialist party in general elections, is due to the combination of the dual vote and differential abstention phenomena. The rational choice methodological approach allow to construct groups of electors with different perceptions about the space in which the political race takes place, fact that induces them different electoral behaviour. In combining these results with those obtained from the analysis with aggregated social and structural data, it is defined a certain profile of the dual voters and the differential non-voters. Finally, it is given an interpretation of the Catalan election results in 1995 and 1999 using as a clue the results of this study.
Keywords: Electoral Behaviour, Regional Elections, Spain, Catalonia, Dual Vote, Differential Abstention
JEL Classification: D72
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation