Direct democracy and intergenerational conflicts in ageing societies

Gabriel Ahlfeldt, Wolfgang Maenning and Malte Steenbeck
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Wolfgang Maennig

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: To evaluate the potential effects of population ageing on the outcomes of direct democracy, we analyze the effect of age on voting decisions in public referendums. In a case study of the Stuttgart 21 referendum on one of the largest infrastructure projects in Germany, we find that support for the project decreased significantly in age. A quan‐ titative review of the relevant literature affirms that similar lifecycle patterns appear to be the norm in referendums on projects that require initial expenditures and pay off in the long run. Population ageing, thus, presents a potential threat to investment‐like reform projects.

Keywords: ageing; direct democracy; intergenerational conflict; NIMBY; referendum; Stuttgart 21; transport; voting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 D62 H41 H71 I18 L83 R41 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2019-04-30
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Journal of Regional Science, 30, April, 2019, 60(1), pp. 129-155. ISSN: 0022-4146

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/100219/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Direct democracy and intergenerational conflicts in ageing societies (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:100219

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