Economic voting in Britain, 1857-1914

• Autores: Robert Hodgson, John Maloney
• Localización: Electoral Studies: An international Journal, ISSN 0261-3794, Vol. 31, Nº. 4, 2012, págs. 668-678
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Despite limited government control over the pre-1914 economy, opposition politicians were enthusiastic in blaming bad economic news on the incumbent. In a study of 458 by-elections between 1857 and 1914, we find that voters typically gave new governments a 'honeymoon' but thereafter held them responsible for high unemployment and high prices. Each 1% rise in the price level, on average, brought about a 0.21% swing against the government of the day, while each one-point rise in the percentage unemployed had double this effect. However, when we split the electorate into borough and county constituencies, economic voting appears to be confined to the former.