Economic performance, quality of democracy and satisfaction with democracy

• Published in: Electoral studies Vol. 53; pp. 79 - 89
• Main Author: Christmann, Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2018; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Democracy; Democratic quality; Economic conditions; Economic crisis; Economic performance; European Social Survey; Panel analysis; Polls & surveys; Respondents; Satisfaction; Satisfaction with democracy; Democratic quality; Satisfaction with democracy; Economic performance; Panel analysis; European Social Survey; Economic crisis
• ISSN: 0261-3794; 1873-6890
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2018.04.004

This study tests the links between economic performance, democratic quality and satisfaction with democracy (SWD) at multiple levels. By analysing a time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) dataset of 57 democracies between 1990 and 2014, it finds the two types of performance matter almost equally: countries with good democratic and economic records tend to show higher levels of SWD than countries without them. Over time, an improvement in ‘objective’ democratic and economic conditions is shown to be related to increasing levels of national SWD. The second part of the study reconfirms these relationships at the individual level by analysing survey data from the “Europeans' understandings and evaluations of democracy” special module of the sixth round of the European Social Survey. It shows that respondents' evaluations of the economy and democracy are strongly related to their SWD. Finally, it demonstrates that the effect of objective democratic and economic performances on SWD is mediated by peoples' evaluations of them.