TY - JOUR
T1 - Political trust, civic duty and voter turnout
T2 - The Mediation argument
AU - Wang, Ching Hsing
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Western Social Science Association
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - This study investigates whether civic duty mediates the effect of political trust on voter turnout. Specifically, this study outlines the relationship between political trust, civic duty and voter turnout by incorporating political trust into the rational choice model of turnout. Empirical evidence from Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom supports the mediation argument. This study consistently finds that political trust exerts a significant mediation effect on voter turnout through civic duty. Besides, this study also confirms a weak or no direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout. The findings imply that past studies have misestimated the impact of political trust on voter turnout and it is wrong if we simply assume a direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout, and do not think about other mechanisms between them. Therefore, we should treat the relationship between political trust and voter turnout more seriously and cautiously.
AB - This study investigates whether civic duty mediates the effect of political trust on voter turnout. Specifically, this study outlines the relationship between political trust, civic duty and voter turnout by incorporating political trust into the rational choice model of turnout. Empirical evidence from Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom supports the mediation argument. This study consistently finds that political trust exerts a significant mediation effect on voter turnout through civic duty. Besides, this study also confirms a weak or no direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout. The findings imply that past studies have misestimated the impact of political trust on voter turnout and it is wrong if we simply assume a direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout, and do not think about other mechanisms between them. Therefore, we should treat the relationship between political trust and voter turnout more seriously and cautiously.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.soscij.2016.04.008
DO - 10.1016/j.soscij.2016.04.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84966460152
SN - 0362-3319
VL - 53
SP - 291
EP - 300
JO - Social Science Journal
JF - Social Science Journal
IS - 3
ER -