Work

Ideological Congruence and Citizen Satisfaction: Evidence From 25 Advanced Democracies

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Ideological congruence is an important and popular measure of the quality of political representation. The closer the match between the preferences of the public and those of elected elites, the better representative democracy is thought to function. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to the effects of ideological congruence on political judgment. We address this gap by examining whether citizens use egocentric or sociotropic judgments of congruence to evaluate democratic performance. Using a variety of congruence measures, we find that citizens are unmoved by sociotropic congruence; however, our analyses provide clear evidence that egocentric congruence boosts citizen satisfaction, especially among political sophisticates. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the study of ideological congruence and political representation.

Source: Comparative Political Studies

DOI: 10.1177/0010414016639708

Authors: Quinton Mayne, Armen Hakhverdian

Institutions: Harvard University, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Electoral Systems and Political Participation

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funder: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek