Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/93279 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7979
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
An unresolved question in political science is how economic downturns affect citizens' economic left-right preferences. Existing observational studies fail to isolate the effect of economic conditions and the effect of elite framing of these conditions. We therefore designed a survey experiment to evaluate how economic change in conjunction with different elite frames impact on citizens' preferences for economic policies. We hypothesise and demonstrate that the effects of these frames differ by income group and partisanship. Our survey experiment – carried out in the UK – demonstrates that poor economic prospects motivate support for unemployment benefits vis-à-vis deficit reduction. Emphasis on government debt and deficits increases support for the latter policy option. Also, we find support for the hypothesis that partisans are less responsive to the economy than independents.
Subjects: 
economic preferences
economic crises
elite framing
survey experiment
UK
JEL: 
D72
Z18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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