The political and economic causes of satisfaction with democracy in Spain – a twofold panel study. Issue 6 (2nd November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Christmann, Pablo; Torcal, Mariano
• Is Part Of: West European politics. Volume 40:Issue 6(2017)
• Page Start: 1241
• Page End: 1266
• Publication Date: 2017-11-02
• Subjects: Satisfaction with democracy -- economic crisis -- political trust -- corruption -- Spain -- panel analysis; Europe -- Politics and government -- 1945- -- Periodicals; 320.94
• DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2017.1302178
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-2382

Abstract

Abstract: This study tests the links between political and economic performance and satisfaction with democracy (SWD) in Spain. Contrary to the dominant theoretical paradigm that explains the aggregate evolution of and the individual-level differences in SWD mainly by means of economic factors, the article presents evidence that evaluations of the political process are equally relevant to account for both changes in individuals' SWD over time and the evolution of SWD at the national level. Unlike most existing literature, this study supports its argument by combining analyses of a micro-level panel dataset (CIUPANEL) and of a pooled aggregate-level panel dataset based on the Spanish samples in the Eurobarometer and the Latinobarómetro between 1986 and 2014.