Political interest, cognitive ability and personality: determinants of voter turnout in Britain

Kevin Denny and Orla Doyle

Open Access publications from School of Economics, University College Dublin

Abstract: This article uses longitudinal data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) to investigate the determinants of voter turnout in the 1997 British general election. It introduces measures of cognitive ability and personality into the participation literature and finds that they are significant determinants of turnout. It also shows that standard turnout models may be biased by the inclusion of the much used ‘interest in politics' measure. A bivariate probit model of turnout and political interest finds that individuals with high comprehension ability and an aggressive personality are more likely to both turn out to vote and have an interest in politics.

Keywords: Voting research; Political psychology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

Published in: British Journal of Political Science, 38(2) 2008

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/16 Open Access version, 2008 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Political Interest, Cognitive Ability and Personality: Determinants of Voter Turnout in Britain (2008)
Working Paper: Political interest, cognitive ability and personality: determinants of voter turnout in Britain (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucn:oapubs:10197/16

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