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Macro and micro understanding in political science: What explains electoral participation?
Author(s) -
LANE JANERIK,
ERSSON SVANTE
Publication year - 1990
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.1475-6765.1990.tb00243.x
Subject(s) - macro , micro level , macro level , positive economics , politics , value (mathematics) , epistemology , aggregate (composite) , sociology , economics , political science , economic system , computer science , microeconomics , law , philosophy , materials science , economic impact analysis , machine learning , programming language , composite material
Abstract. Taking as its starting point two articles published recently in the European Journal of Political Research (Vol. 18, No. 2), this note reviews critically the value of micro and macro approaches to the understanding of electoral participation, and the relationship between them. It suggests that while micro hypotheses make sense, macro hypotheses are difficult to interpret because they cannot be derived from any plausible theory about human motivation. The few deviant cases that exist at the macro level are perhaps better explained by a deeper understanding of their own conditions rather than using them to underpin a general aggregate level theory that is not capable of being understood in terms of micro level theory.