Dr Raymond Duch comments on political affiliation and perceptions of the US economy

Raymond Duch was quoted in an article in the Financial Times (21 October) on how political views shape individuals perceptions of their economic experience.

While 55 per cent of Republicans in the United States say their household finances are in worse shape than in December 2007, only 40 per cent of Democrats do.

Raymond remarked, however, that rather than concentrating on their personal economic experience, when voting [p]eople tend to focus on the national economy Thats what drives their economic perception and thats what drives their voting behaviour. He went on to note that while many partisans may not change their vote no matter how the economy is performing, the economic vote decisions to reward or punish incumbents for economic (in)competency is sizeable and can swing elections.

The full article can be read here.