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Maximizing utility at the polls? A replication of Himmelweit's ‘Consumer Model of Voting’ with German election data from 1983
Author(s) -
KUECHLER Manfred
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1986.tb00823.x
Subject(s) - german , voting , identification (biology) , context (archaeology) , replication (statistics) , measure (data warehouse) , econometrics , positive economics , test (biology) , economics , computer science , political science , law , data mining , statistics , linguistics , mathematics , politics , paleontology , philosophy , botany , biology
. A rational choice model of voting behaviour suggested by Himmelweit et al. is put to an empirical test in the context of the 1983 West German general election. Compared to the traditional measure of party identification, an indicator based on multi‐attribute utility theory (MAUT) considerations fails to be as dominant as in the original British data. However, specific context effects were at work in the German 1983 election. Also, the party identification measure is problematic itself. It is concluded that the MAUT approach deserves further elaboration; several methodological improvements are discussed.