Differential Abstention in Catalonia and the Community of Madrid : A Socio-political Explanation of an Urban Phenomenon / Josep M. Vallés, Robert Liñeira
Vallès i Casadevall, Josep M.


En: Reis : Revista española de investigaciones sociológicas. [Madrid], núm. 146 (2014) , p. 69-92 (p. 25-48)
Bibliografia. Resums en castellà i anglès.

Differences in turnout between general and regional elections in Spain reveal two recurrent characteristics: they are highest in the regions of Catalonia and Madrid and tend to be concentrated in the metropolitan areas of the cities of Barcelona and Madrid. What explains these two regional patterns? To explain this phenomenon, this article contributes new elements, using census data at the tract level. The main conclusion is that the demobilization observed in regional elections is related to certain characteristics of the socio-demographic structure of the metropolitan areas in these two regions: a higher presence of young voters, higher unemployment and a higher percentage of the electorate born outside their region of residence. In addition, a political factor, support for the socialist party, also appears to be an important element in explaining this differential abstention. The combination of all these factors provides a clearer picture of those who abstain in regional elections as well as new clues to understand the phenomenon of differential abstention.