Moving through the political participation hierarchy: a focus on personal values

Abstract

This study empirically explores the determinants of political participation. Using data from the European Social Survey, we investigate the relationship between political participation and personal values, using the Schwartz (1992) values inventory. A political participation hierarchy is theorized, and activities are categorized into four levels of participation (none, weak, medium and strong), based on the cost of participating and how unconventional the activity is. Empirical analysis points to individuals who are more open to change and more self-transcendent, being more likely to participate. Sub-sample analysis, contrasting East and West Europe, suggests that the role for personal values is more subdued in the East, with respect to moving individuals from not participating to at least voting. Furthermore, the use of a generalized ordered logit model in this study illustrates the complex nature of many of the determinants of political participation. In particular, we find that the influence of the majority of individual characteristics is not monotonic in nature, as you move up through the political participation hierarchy. These findings are important for researchers and policy-makers who may be interested in understanding determinants of and/or enhancing the level of political participation in an economy.

Keywords:

• personal values
• political participation

JEL Classification:

• D72
• P16

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Professor Shalom Schwartz for his useful feedback and encouragement on this research endeavour. We would also like to thank Jessica Dye for invaluable research assistance.

Notes

¹ McCann (1997) defines core political values as normative principles and beliefs held about government, citizenship and society.

² Also arguing a multidimensional approach, Verba et al. (1987) conceptualizes and empirically tests, using factor analysis, participation as different ladders representing different ‘modes’ of activity.

³ Brady et al. (1995) develop a resource model of political participation. The focus is on specific resources, beyond SES, such as money, time and civic skills.

⁴ The Hedonism indicators were excluded, due to the large crossover this category has with both openness to change and self-enhancement.

⁵ Parallel-lines assumption tested using the 0.05% level of significance.