Presidential Elections, Divided Politics, and Happiness in the USA
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9724159 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sergio Pinto (0000-0002-6910-0128, University of Maryland and Instituto Universitário de Lisboa), Panka Bencsik (University of Chicago), Tuugi Chuluun (Loyola University Maryland, corresponding author), C Graham (0000-0001-6088-1960, Brookings Institution) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 88 |
| Issue | 349 |
| Pages | 189-207 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Economica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-0427 • E-ISSN: 1468-0335 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ecca.12349 |
| OpenAlex | W2921533027 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 40 |
We examine the effects of the 2016 and 2012 US presidential election outcomes on subjective wellbeing across party identification. We use Gallup data and a regression discontinuity approach, and focus primarily on evaluative (life satisfaction) and hedonic (positive and negative affect) indicators. We find that both elections had strong negative wellbeing effects on those who identified with the losing party, with little or no increase in wellbeing for those identifying with the winning party. The negative effects for the losing side were larger in 2016 than in 2012, by a factor of three on some indicators, and were driven mainly by women and middle‐income households. As such, both elections had a net negative wellbeing effect, but more so in 2016. Local voting patterns did not have a substantial wellbeing impact, nor did congressional elections taking place the same day. In 2016, the election also changed respondents’ perceptions about the economy, their financial status, and their community. After both elections, hedonic wellbeing gaps across parties typically dissipated within two weeks, but there was more persistence in evaluative wellbeing gaps, especially in expected life satisfaction. The latter gap persisted throughout 2017
Affect (linguistics) · Demographic economics · Economics · Happiness · Life satisfaction · Perception · Political science · Politics · Presidential election · Presidential system · Regression discontinuity design · Subjective well-being · Voting · Health disparities and outcomes · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology
Trajectories of Psychological Outcomes During the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
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Worldview defence and self‐determination theory explain the return of racial voting
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Partisanship and Mental Health
Does the Election Winner–Loser Gap Extend to Subjective Health and Well-Being
State government control and partisan happiness
When Public Health Crises Become Entwined
Family Violence and Football
Rdrobust
Gambling with the House Money and Trying to Break Even
Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals?
Life Satisfaction and Political Participation
Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans
High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being
Prospect Theory
Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote
Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics
The Racial and Economic Context of Trump Support
Changes in subjective well-being following the U.S. Presidential election of 2016
Losing Hurts
The Challenges of Untangling the Relationship Between Participation and Happiness
More than a rural revolt
For the Win! The Effect of Professional Sports Records on Mayoral Elections
Who Got the Brexit Blues? The Effect of Brexit on Subjective Wellbeing in the UK
Destruction and Distress
Happiness, Economy and Institutions
Do Birds of a Feather Vote Together, or Is It Peer Influence
Affective Forecasting Errors in the 2008 Election
Immune neglect
Who Decides When The Party Doesn’t? Authoritarian Voters and the Rise of Donald Trump
Swing voting in the 2016 presidential election in counties where midlife mortality has been rising in white non-Hispanic Americans
Voting and Peer Effects
Angry, Passionate, and Divided
The Link Between Voting and Life Satisfaction in Latin America
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,6 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |