Economic Voting and Multilevel Governance: The Case of Toronto. (January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Anderson, Cameron D.; McGregor, R. Michael; Moore, Aaron A.; Stephenson, Laura B.
• Is Part Of: Urban affairs review. Volume 53:Number 1(2017:Jan.)
• Page Start: 71
• Page End: 101
• Publication Date: 2017-01
• Subjects: economic voting -- municipal elections -- Toronto; City planning -- Periodicals; Aménagement urbain; Développement urbain; Planification urbaine; Politique urbaine; Recherche; Sociologie urbaine; Urbanisme; Ville; États-Unis; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 307.76
• DOI: 10.1177/1078087415617302
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1078-0874

Abstract

Past work has shown that economic conditions influence electoral outcomes at multiple levels of government in Canada and in democratic states around the world. However, there is significant variation in the jurisdictional ability of different governments to influence economic conditions; in particular, municipal governments may be least able to influence the economy. As a result, voters may be less likely to hold municipal incumbents accountable for economic conditions than either provincial or federal politicians. Building on this discussion, this article explores several questions. First, do citizens differentiate between the impacts of different orders of government on economic conditions? Second, does the economy affect incumbent support in local elections? Finally, does knowledge of the jurisdictional responsibilities of the three levels of government condition economic effects at the municipal level in Canada? We consider these questions using individual-level data collected during the 2014 Toronto municipal election.