The uneven impact of inequality on voter turnout in urban and rural Spain

Juan Ignacio Martín-Legendre () and Paolo Rungo ()
Additional contact information
Juan Ignacio Martín-Legendre: Universidade da Coruña
Paolo Rungo: Universidade da Coruña

Public Choice, 2025, vol. 205, issue 1, No 6, 129-150

Abstract: Abstract This paper argues that the characteristics of place of residence, be it urban or rural, influence how income inequality translates to political behavior. We build on previous research that posits an inverted U-shaped relationship: Rising inequality initially boosts turnout but ultimately discourages participation. We extend this framework by examining how location influences this association. In low-inequality contexts, the combination of institutional support for mobilization and increased awareness of inequality’s effects in large cities may lead to a steeper rise in turnout compared to small towns. Conversely, small towns may experience a sharper decline in turnout at high inequality levels due to heightened feelings of marginalization and disenfranchisement. Employing a panel data set of Spanish municipalities and an interaction-based regression model, our findings support the inverted U-shaped relationship and the moderating effect of location. Urban areas exhibit a stronger initial positive association between inequality and turnout, while rural areas and smaller cities see a steeper decline at high inequality levels. These results underscore the importance of social and geographical context in understanding the link between inequality and political participation.

Keywords: Income inequality; Voter turnout; Urban–rural divide; Political participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 D72 O15 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11127-025-01287-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:205:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11127-025-01287-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ce/journal/11127/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11127-025-01287-0

Access Statistics for this article

Public Choice is currently edited by WIlliam F. Shughart II

More articles in Public Choice from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().