Was Brexit Caused by the Unhappy and the Old?

Federica Liberini, Andrew J Oswald, Eugenio Proto and Michela Redoano
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Andrew J Oswald: University of Warwick
Michela Redoano: University of Warwick

CAGE Online Working Paper Series from Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

Abstract: On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (so-called ‘Brexit’).This paper uses newly released information, from the Understanding Society data set, to examine the characteristics of individuals who were for and against Brexit. Two new findings emerge. First, unhappy feelings contributed to Brexit. However, contrary to commonly heard views, the key channel of influence was not through general dissatisfaction with life. It was through a person’s narrow feelings about his or her own financial situation. Second, despite some commentators’ guesses, Brexit was not caused by old people. Only the very young were substantially pro-Remain.

Keywords: Referendum; European Union; Brexit; Voting. JEL Classification: D72 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resea ... ld_proto_redoano.pdf

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Working Paper: Was Brexit Caused by the Unhappy and the Old? (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cge:wacage:342

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