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Does Type of Education Affect Political Participation? Results from a Panel Survey of Swedish Adolescents
Author(s) -
Persson Mikael
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.2012.00286.x
Subject(s) - proxy (statistics) , politics , affect (linguistics) , vocational education , panel survey , panel data , demographic economics , panel analysis , survey data collection , political science , higher education , psychology , pedagogy , economics , econometrics , statistics , mathematics , communication , machine learning , computer science , law
In several countries it is apparent that individuals with academic gymnasium (upper‐secondary) education show significantly higher levels of political participation than individuals with vocational education. However, previous research on this issue draws exclusively on one‐shot cross‐sectional data. This article utilizes a Swedish panel survey to gauge whether there is a direct causal link between type of education and political participation. Results demonstrate that differences in political participation are already present when students enter different types of education. The analyses show no significant effects of education; instead results support the education‐as‐a‐proxy view: pre‐adult factors predict political participation as well as educational choice.