Macroeconomic Indicators of Working Class Voter Abstention in US Presidential Elections, 1948-2004

In this paper I explore the causal relationship between the strategic economic interdependence advanced by Western democracies after WWII and the "puzzle of participation" in US presidential elections. More specifically, I seek to illustrate first how economic convergence within the West and then the transition from Keynesian to monetarist policy rhetoric reflexively diminish the degree to which US working class voters can realistically petition their elected officials regarding the most salient matters of economic self-interest. My results indicate that from 1948-2004, the working public became more isolated from their most salient economic decisions, voted less often due to heretofore unexplored macroeconomic indicators.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Year

2011

Author dc:creator

• Kessing, Christopher

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jacobsmeier, Matthew; Huelshoff, Michael
• Day, Christine

• Keynesian economics
• public isolation
• working class
• voter participation
• Bretton Woods
• economic interdependence
• GATT/WTO

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1322

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2306