Satisfaction with Democracy, Economic Evaluations, and National Wealth: A Multi-Level Analysis of European Democracies

Empirical research on the determinants of satisfaction with democracy (SWD) has shown that evaluations of national economic performance, as well as assessments of individual economic circumstances are key individual-level predictors of SWD. However, it not clear whether and how the effect of economic perceptions on SWD is conditioned by levels of national wealth and other macro-economic performance indicators. Building on Inglehart’s theory of the materialist-postmaterialist value divide, we expect that economic evaluations have a stronger effect on SWD in poorer countries than in wealthier countries. We test this hypothesis in a multi-level analysis of 30 European democracies, using data from the 2012 round of the European Social Survey. Preliminary findings suggest that the effect of economic evaluations on SWD does indeed vary systematically by levels of national wealth. This finding adds new evidence to debates on how macro context influences the relationship between SWD and its individual-level predictors.