Political polarization and voting: the role of moral and economic issues

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to analyze demographic political polarization based on public opinion in relation to political issues. Those issues were classified into two groups: moral issues and economic ones. The second objective is to investigate how political issues influence voting decisions. Time series data were used with the application of the dyad ratios technique in order to create indices for moral issues, economic issues and voting intentions. The results showed some degree of political polarization among income, age and regional groups. In addition, voting decisions are influenced by political issues. This article advances our comprehension of these processes by analyzing political polarization from a macro political perspective, proposing new methodological approaches for this research agenda in Brazil and Latin America.

Keywords:
macro politics; political polarization; political issues; vote