The Microfoundations of Mass Polarization

Matthew S. Levendusky

Political Analysis, 2009, vol. 17, issue 2, 162-176

Abstract: Although there has been considerable attention to the question of how much polarization there is in the mass electorate, there has been much less attention paid to the mechanism that causes polarization. I provide evidence demonstrating the occurrence of individual-level conversion—individual Democrats and Republicans becoming more liberal and conservative. Although over the short term most of the observed changes are quite small and cannot be distinguished from measurement error, over time and many respondents, these movements aggregate to generate polarization. Small individual-level preference shifts provide an important foundation for aggregate polarization.

Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:polals:v:17:y:2009:i:02:p:162-176_00

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