The Smallest Distance Hypothesis and the Explanation of the Vote Reconsidered
In: Acta politica: AP ; international journal of political science ; official journal of the Dutch Political Science Association (Nederlandse Kring voor Wetenschap der Politiek), Band 26, Heft 1, S. 65-84
ISSN: 0001-6810
To investigate the thesis of C. van der Eijk's & B. Niemoller's Electoral Change in the Netherlands, Empirical Results and Methods of Measurement ([Dissertation], Amsterdam: CT Press, 1983) that the Left-Right dimension is the most important factor in Dutch politics, interview data collected by Dutch Gallup pollsters in 1983 from 341 adults are analyzed using the smallest distance hypothesis developed in A. Downs's An Economic Theory of Democracy (New York: Harper & Row, 1957). Psychophysical scaling methods are applied to determine the precision & reliability of measurements & to bypass the disadvantages incurred when using a single indicator. The results show that for 40% of the respondents, the smallest distance hypothesis could not account for the vote. Thus, a large % of voters choose their party according to other factors than the Left-Right dimension. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 28 References. M. Meeks