How husbands and wives vote

Marte Strøm.

Elsevier

Photo: Elsevier

Published in:

Electoral Studies 2014 35 p.p. 215-229.

DOI:10.1016/j.electstud.2014.01.006

Abstract:

This article uses economic theories of voting behavior and household decision making to analyze the role of own and spouse earnings in determining political voting behavior. The main predictions from these models is that earnings is one of the factors that has an impact on political preferences and in households who share resources, voting behavior will be influenced more by the most representative labor income in the family. I investigate empirically the importance of individual vs household income, and find that the importance of individual income on voting behavior is contingent on employment. On average women earn less than their husband and vote according to their husbands income. If the wife is the maximum earner of the household or works fulltime, she votes more according to her own earnings.

Published July 17, 2015 2:26 PM