The Effects of Direct Democratic Procedures on Socio-Economic Inequality in Europe

Direct democratic instruments are currently discussed as a very popular means to “bring citizens back in”. Following the general argument of supporters of direct democracy, such instruments can contribute to enhancing political trust and legitimacy, thus solving some of the most severe problems of the current “crisis of democracy”. Regarding the effects of direct democracy on equality, some authors claim that direct democratic instruments have the potential to foster it when applied in a democratic context, while others have a more negative view and emphasize the danger of an increasing influence of upper class interests resulting in even more unequal societies. In current research on direct democracy and its effects on socioeconomic inequality two major gaps can be identified: 1) most studies only focus on state comparisons within single countries, namely the US and Switzerland and 2) a great majority of publications in the field either looks at legal options of direct democracy or the mere number of referendums held, the actual effects of direct democratic decisions that are brought to a vote are however disregarded in most studies. This paper aims to fill these gaps by analyzing the impact of actual direct democratic decisions on socioeconomic inequality in European democracies between 1990 and 2015. We do so by comparing the results of all national referendums and initiatives in this time period (514 in total) in a large-n, comparative study. Do referendums promote or hinder socioeconomic equality, or do they have no effect at all? Our analysis will look at the concrete outcomes of direct democratic decisions and assess how they have affected socioeconomic inequality. Also, we will present first ideas regarding potential explanatory factors that impact the chances of success of equality-promoting bills in direct decision making. The results of our analysis are important for the evaluation of direct democracy as a means to complement representative democracy and shaping democratic institutions in the future. As equality is one of the basic values of liberal democracies, the potential of direct democracy in fostering or impeding it should be a central criterion for the assessment of potential extensions of popular decision-making.