Economic conditions as contexts: Information processing and economic voting

Research on economic voting has left several questions unanswered. Some of these relate to what areas of the economy are used in holding politicians accountable. Does the public concern itself with only national economic conditions? Or are personal, state, and group economic conditions relevant? If so, how well does the electorate discriminate between these related areas? Other questions ask whether the relevant spheres of economic concern vary on the basis of personal characteristics. Are some people more likely to be pocketbook voters and utilize only personal economic evaluations when voting? Finally, past research has left unanswered the extent to which objective economic conditions influence economic attitudes. Do people draw on the actual conditions surrounding them or do they rely upon the media, friends, and associates? The research presented here attempts to answer these questions.;First I examine the ability of the electorate to discriminate between personal, group, state, and national economic conditions. The results indicate that people are clearly able to distinguish between these economic spheres. In addition, one's level of education or interest in the campaign has no effect upon his or her ability to make those distinctions. The least interested voters perceive the economy and its various spheres in much the same way as the most politically absorbed. That is not to suggest that they reach the same conclusions, but simply to argue that their perceptions are equally well structured.;The second stage of this research examines the way people actually utilize economic information when voting. The results indicate that people who are less interested and less educated rely more heavily upon personal level economic information. Those with more education or more interest tend to be more nationally oriented. The results are less clear with regard to the effect of the economic context. No clear pattern of significant results emerges; most of the estimated coefficients are simply not significant. The electorate shows no apparent tendency to use objective economic conditions in their voting decisions.