How bad is it? Variation in perceptions of regional economic conditions Articles uri icon

publication date

  • June 2021

start page

  • 1140

end page

  • 1153

issue

  • 6

volume

  • 55

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0034-3404

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1360-0591

abstract

  • Drawing from recent theories of economic accountability that stress the contextual nature of attributed responsibility, this paper explores how variation in regional authority influences the interplay between objective regional economic conditions and perceived regional economic performance. The study uses a virtually unexplored set of surveys about public opinion in European Union regions in a broad sample of politically decentralized European democracies. The results demonstrate that while higher levels of self-rule increase the weight citizens place on economic outcomes when building their regional evaluations, higher levels of shared rule reduce it.

keywords

  • decentralization; regional politics; european union; economic evaluations; attribution of responsibilities