Collective Emotions and Protest Vote

48 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2019

See all articles by Carlo Altomonte

Carlo Altomonte

Bocconi University - Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management

Gloria Gennaro

Bocconi University - Baffi Carefin Centre

Francesco Passarelli

Bocconi University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

We leverage on important findings in social psychology to build a behavioral theory of protest vote. An individual develops a feeling of resentment if she loses income over time while richer people do not, or if she does not gain as others do, i.e. when her relative deprivation increases. In line with the Intergroup Emotions Theory, this feeling is amplified if the individual identifies with a community experiencing the same feeling. Such a negative collective emotion, which we define as aggrievement, fuels the desire to take revenge against traditional parties and the richer elite, a common trait of populist rhetoric. The theory predicts higher support for the protest party when individuals identify more strongly with their local community and when a higher share of community members are aggrieved. We test this theory using longitudinal data on British households and exploiting the emergence of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in Great Britain in the 2010 and 2015 national elections. Empirical findings robustly support theoretical predictions. The psychological mechanism postulated by our theory survives the controls for alternative non-behavioral mechanisms (e.g. information sharing or political activism in local communities).

Keywords: electoral behaviour, protest vote, populism, relative deprivation, community cohesion, UK Independence Party

JEL Classification: H100

Suggested Citation

Altomonte, Carlo and Gennaro, Gloria and Passarelli, Francesco, Collective Emotions and Protest Vote (2019). CESifo Working Paper No. 7463, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3338817 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3338817

Carlo Altomonte (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, 20136
Italy

Gloria Gennaro

Bocconi University - Baffi Carefin Centre ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan
Italy

Francesco Passarelli

Bocconi University ( email )

Via Sarfatti, 25
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
477
Abstract Views
2,304
Rank
99,992
PlumX Metrics