Population ageing and local governments: Does engagement with the local community change over the lifecycle?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Population ageing is having a wide range of effects on societies, governments and economies, reflecting changes in people’s preferences and needs over their lifecycle and across generations. When it comes to local governments, these effects depend on people’s attachment to the local community and their participation in its political life, which influence their ability and willingness to shape policy through the political process. Using individual level data from the World Values Survey, and taking account of the joint drivers of community attachment and political participation, the empirical analysis shows that both attachment and participation rise with age, albeit in a non-linear manner. These findings are robust to differences in people’s attitudes to democracy, trust in government and exposure to major political and institutional changes, such as democratic transitions and fiscal/political decentralisation.