Citizen Preferences Research Articles

Forging support: when there is no alternative to ‘there is no alternative’

Abstract Whether fiscal austerity by governments is unpopular or not is much discussed in the literature. One line of research argues that consolidation has negative electoral effects, ranging from declines in politicians’ approval ratings to abstention by voters at elections. Another strand highlights that re-election chances are not harmed by the implementation of austerity and that some voters in fact support consolidation measures. Both sides are limited in at least two regards. First, they do not allow for the possibility that public opinion is shaped by the political discussion about government debts and budget deficits. Second, and relatedly, the literature is limited in its extent to which it considers heterogeneity in preference adaptation across income groups. This article contributes to these debates by bringing to bear insights from the literature on mass preference formation. In particular, I argue that a cross-party consensus on austerity leads voters to align their preferences with the consensus, increasingly demanding cuts to government spending. This adaptation is conditioned by income so that the preferences of those income groups that are the furthest away from the consensus adapt their fiscal preferences most. By including the discursive context of fiscal policy, this article helps explain how austerity can be made popular. Empirically, I test these expectations by matching citizen preferences with party positions on fiscal policy for 60 country years. The empirical results indeed demonstrate that even though low- and middle-income voters are least supportive of austerity, they adapt the most to the party consensus on austerity.

The Size of Transactions, Types of Products, and the Choice Between Electronic Payments and Cash Usage

Fueled by recent policy advancements and technological progress, India’s digital payment system is on the verge of becoming a noteworthy success story. Concurrently, data also highlights the continued reliance on cash. While broad national-level data can provide insights into overall citizen preferences, we utilize a survey-based data-set to gain insight into how factors such as ’transaction size,’ ’nature of the product,’ ’consumer perception,’ ’trust’ in digital payments, and the costs associated with digital transactions influence consumer payment behavior. While demographic factors like age and income play a role in these choices, we discover compelling evidence that an individual’s choice of digital payment methods is strongly shaped by their perception of these options, transaction size, trust, associated costs, and the product category. Notably, we observe that as transaction size increases, the use of digital payment methods tends to decrease.

Discursive Practices during an Electoral Cycle: Public Opinion and Political Disillusionment on Twitter

Electoral cycles are highly charged, politically intense moments that influence public discourse. Political elites, citizens, and the traditional news media seek to generate opinions and interactions on social networks. This research is motivated by the following questions: What are the communicative and deliberative practices used in these spaces? Is it possible to identify the characteristics that –through deliberative conversations– potentially foster or undermine democratic debate, particularly when using populist and polarizing discourse? Using a mixed methods approach, we apply a social network analysis tool to track conversations and identify the volume of political discourse (N=346,000). Using selective and staged filtering, we identified posts from nine Peruvian Twitter accounts during the September 2022 electoral campaign in Lima: three candidates, three media outlets, and three accounts with high levels of engagement. Our data comprised the comments from these nine accounts and was extracted using an Application Programming Interface (API). Subsequently, we carried out ethnographic content analysis on publications with more than 30 comments. In this phase, we analyzed Twitter comments using a codebook to identify deliberative practices and user responses. Our findings underscore the significant role of principal media outlets in shaping political conversation on Twitter. We also discovered that attempts to interact and deliberate were often overshadowed by heated comments attempting to impose opinions on others. Most importantly, our research reveals a widespread disillusionment with politics, political institutions, and even the political preferences of fellow citizens in Peru, highlighting a key challenge for democratic discourse on social media.

Valuing ecosystem services of community gardens in developing countries: a case study of Dezful City in Iran

Allotment (AGs) and community gardens (CGs) are types of urban gardens that provide diverse ecosystem services (ESs) such as climate regulation, beautiful landscapes, biodiversity and food security. Despite this, there are no AGs or CGs in many developing countries such as Iran. One of the main reasons for the lack of development of CGs in developing countries is the lack of proper understanding by policy-makers and citizens regarding the economic value of the ESs provided and the lack of disclosure of the benefits of its construction in urban areas. The purpose of this study is to analyse the preferences of citizens, to examine the existence of a potential market, to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for the creation and operation of CG services and to investigate the factors affecting residents’ WTP in Dezful, Iran. For this purpose, a choice experiment, based on the stated preferences valuation approach, was applied through interviews with 170 respondents living in Dezful urban area. The data were collected during the autumn of 2022 and analysed using conditional logit model. The results indicated that the responding citizens are willing to pay 4.57 USD per month to create CG and operate its ESs in Dezful. Amongst the attributes and ESs of the community garden, citizens valued cultural services the most, followed by provisioning services. In addition, the variables “age”, “being native”, “education”, “household expenditure level” and “awareness and recognition of CG ecosystem services” had a significant effect on WTP. According to the results, it is suggested to follow the policy of creating CGs with the participation of citizens instead of focusing only on the creation of urban green space with a government budget and heavy financial burden. CGs, while providing diverse ESs, can generate sustainable incomes for municipalities and accelerate the movement toward sustainable urban development.

Revisiting citizen preferences for who should govern and how. the case of cross-national surveys

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature suggests that many citizens reject representative politics and demand instead that people or unelected experts direct governmental decision-making. This study contributes to this literature by highlighting how undetected response biases and other sources of measurement error have misled previous inquiries about patterns of support for political processes. Using recent cross-national surveys with innovative measurement proposals, the article finds that theorized dimensions of the political process represent citizens’ views consistently across citizen backgrounds only when measurement errors are corrected. This technical adjustment has substantive theoretical and empirical implications for further explanatory analyses. First, it shows when indicators measuring the political process are comparable across citizens’ groups, sharing understandings about and abilities to identify the dimensions of the political process with low response bias. Second, it finds that uncontrolled measurement errors obscure analyses of who supports political processes. Several patterns in explaining citizens’ preferences turn statistically non-significant, and new predictors emerge –mostly associated with citizens’ conservatism and resource mobilization theory. The findings offer new insights and methodological suggestions for future comparative research on citizens’ preferences for who should govern and how.

Automated vehicles and the urban parking paradigm: Environmental implications and Citizen preference

This study examines parking decisions in a future populated by automated vehicles (AVs), focusing on their energy implications. Using a multinomial logit model, preferences among cruising, garage parking, sending the AV home, and on-street parking in Santander, Spain, were evaluated. Home sending emerged as the favourite (52%) for its convenience, while garage parking was chosen by 36%, valued for security and environmental benefits. Cruising was least popular (6%), deterred by environmental concerns. Integrating survey data with traffic simulations, the research uncovered that cruising, despite its low preference, accounted for 16% of energy consumption due to empty trips. Surprisingly, sending AVs home, despite being the most popular, led to significant energy use, although it maintained a good consumption ratio. Garage parking, especially when located on city outskirts, was also inefficient. The study highlights the urgent need for strategies to mitigate inefficient parking behaviours, thereby enhancing the sustainability of AV-driven mobility.

Технологии медиакоммуникаций в политической сфере в контексте современной геополитической ситуации

The article considers key characteristics of media communication technology in the political sphere in the context of the current geopolitical situation. The author explores the influence of modern media communication for political information. The article analyses the features of application of media communication technologies by various political actors, as well as their influence on public opinion formation and political preference. The article is of interest to specialists in the field of political science, sociology, journalism and other humanities, as well as to a wide range of readers interested in modern trends in the development of media communication technologies and their impact on the political sphere. The author of the article considers political communication as a process of transfer of politically relevant information between different elements of the political system with the aim of its subsequent assimilation. The digital factors of influence of media communications on political environment are analyzed. Modern media communication technologies provide new opportunities for political actors to influence public opinion and shape the political preferences of citizens. However, they can also be used to spread misinformation and manipulate the public consciousness, so the author points out the importance of professionalizing knowledge in this area to prevent the dissemination of inaccurate information. It seems that political actors in the digital environment need to intensify interaction with online platforms, digital services and social networks for effective interaction with the population.

Reward exploitation or exploration? The effects of local government sustainability strategies and performance information on citizen evaluation

ABSTRACT Given the growing attention on citizen involvement in local sustainability, this study explores how citizens evaluate government sustainability performance stemming from exploitation (established policies) and exploration strategies (pioneering initiatives). Our survey experiment finds that positive sustainability performance resulting from exploitation achieves more favourable citizen evaluations compared to exploration. Negative sustainability performance does not moderate the associations between sustainability strategies and public assessments. Furthermore, Republicans, individuals with low climate beliefs, Hispanics, and low-income citizens prefer exploitation over exploration. As an early attempt to examine citizen preferences for organizational strategies, this study extends performance management research by linking organizational strategies with performance.

The impact of payment method on overseas tourism consumption: micro-evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study conducts an empirical analysis to examine the impact of payment methods on spending patterns and product preferences using micro-survey data on Chinese citizens’ overseas tourism expenditures. A sample selection model was constructed to address the potential bias arising from the non-randomly selected samples used for estimation. Our findings suggest that payment methods significantly affect the amount on Chinese citizens on overseas tourism. And these impacts vary across different age and gender groups. Payment methods also significantly influence the product preferences of Chinese citizens’ overseas tourism consumption. Moreover, it is also found that shopping venues significantly affect Chinese citizens’ spending on overseas tourism.

HYBRID WARFARE IS A NEW SOCIO-CULTURAL PHENOMENON

The article attempts to conduct a critical analysis of existing approaches in Russian humanities to a relatively new socio–cultural phenomenon - hybrid warfare. The essence of the phenomenon considered in the article indicates that the forms of hybrid influence used in modern interstate confrontation have a negative impact on the worldview of citizens. This creates conditions under which the nature of the confrontation between states reaches a qualitatively different level – a hybrid conflict. The warring parties, in their choice of means of influencing the enemy, use new technologies that are primarily focused on the socio-cultural sphere. The analysis of the modern socio-cultural phenomenon of hybrid warfare conducted in the article suggests that the enemy determines the value sphere of a particular social education (people, population, communities), ethno-cultural and ethno-religious preferences of citizens as the most likely objects of influence.

Political Parties and Public Policies. A Review of the Spanish Evidence

Abstract To what extent does the incumbent party’s identity shape public policies? We investigate this question by examining national and regional policies in Spain. First, we analyze the evolution of voter preferences, and ofthe platforms of the two mainstream parties (Partido Socialista Obrero Español [PSOE] and Partido Popular [PP]), and the newer challenger parties that emerged post-financial crisis (Ciudadanos, Podemos, and Vox). We focus on three key national-level issue dimensions: economic, social, and centralization. As expected, the right-wing PP adopts a more conservative stance on all dimensions compared to the left-wing PSOE. However, the policy gap between these two parties remains relatively stable until the mid-2000s, with party platforms tracking the evolution of citizen preferences. After this period, platforms start to diverge, especially in the case of new parties, which display radical stances on these dimensions. We also provide descriptive evidence suggesting that these platform differences have translated into enacted policies. Second, to offer causal evidence on the effect of party identity on policy decisions, we examine partisan disparities in regional fiscal policies. Our findings reveal significant differences in tax policy following the granting of tax autonomy to the regions, somewhat moderated by tax competition and fiscal limits.

To renovate or build with wood? Results from Finnish citizen survey data

Finland shows strong support for reducing its climate footprint originating from the built environment as part of the national carbon neutrality goal by 2035. Two prime examples are increasing wood use in construction and favoring building renovation to alleviate emissions from the use of virgin construction materials. However, the open question remains whether citizens also support these decarbonization pathways. By using national-level data from a randomly sampled citizen survey in Finland (n = 1448), we model citizen preferences to these two decarbonization pathways. The results suggest that a preference to renovate rather than to build anew is shown by respondents of the female gender; over 55 years of age; with a lower household equivalent income; and possessing housing property investment. Wood material is positively favored by respondents with higher age; a lower household equivalent income; living in smaller population centers in the countryside; and owning forestland. Interestingly, the effect of climate agency was negative in both models. This can be interpreted in the wood material case as reflecting conflicting views of negative environmental effects from forest harvesting to produce renewable building materials. In the renovation model case, we argue that the climatic impact of renovations remain weakly understood by citizens in Finland, given that the media and national regulations emphasize operational emissions. These results benefit both policy makers and municipal-level decision making in understanding of acceptability of wood material use and building retrofits among the general public.

People are willing to pay for climate- and biodiversity-friendly policies in Finland: opportunities of wind power, forest management, and peatland restoration

Land-use practices play a crucial role in addressing the most pressing threats to the well-being of present and future generations, namely, climate change and biodiversity loss. Our study employed a choice experiment (CE) method to delve into the preferences of Finnish citizens concerning policy measures aimed at mitigating climate change, as well as their associated outcomes. The investigation yielded three key findings. First, on average, respondents expressed a willingness to pay (WTP) for both the implementation of proposed policy measures and the subsequent outcomes. Second, there was notable heterogeneity in WTP among respondents, influenced by whether they resided in the capital region or elsewhere in the country. Third, to assess citizens’ WTP for various policy combinations, we formulated alternative policy programs. These programs underscored the significance of forestry-related measures that not only address climate change but also yield positive biodiversity outcomes in shaping effective climate policies.

Catering establishments in the everyday life of urban residents

The article is devoted to the analysis of consumer preferences and behavioral practices of urban residents in the catering market. The conceptual framework of the study was the theory of "third places" – spaces outside home and work that create conditions for full communication of visitors. The empirical basis of the study was the results of an online survey conducted among the residents of Ekaterinburg in 2024 (n=610). The study tested the hypothesis about the significance of the socio-communicative function of catering establishments in the perception of citizens. The results of the study showed the important role of catering establishments in the everyday life of urban residents: the behavioral practices of urban residents indicate the regularity of visits to catering establishments regardless of the day of the week, the preference for evening visiting time, more frequent use of actual visits compared to the use of ready meal delivery services. Consumer preferences of citizens in the catering market are characterized by a clearly expressed communicative dominance, confirming the importance of the social function of catering establishments. The most significant motive for visiting catering establishments is communicating with friends and relatives. The most popular venues are those that provide the best atmospheric and spatial opportunities for "live" communication. Among the factors for choosing catering establishments, the leading ones are the "internal" factors of the establishment – food quality, hygiene and safety, service, menu and variety of dishes, and the atmosphere created. External factors – reviews on the Internet, ratings of establishments on specialized sites, recommendations of food bloggers – do not have a decisive influence on the choice of consumers. The results of the study can be used to improve the quality of service in the catering industry and to develop an effective promotion strategy of enterprises in this sphere.

Satisfaction with public goods provision and citizen preferences for institutional changes: Evidence from the dictatorship‐era constitution in Chile

AbstractWe argue that a deficient provision of public goods may influence citizen satisfaction with the status quo, thereby encouraging demands for institutional changes. We formalize and test this relationship using prior data related to the recent constitutional process carried out in Chile to replace its dictatorship‐era constitution. Individual‐level data from the Chile 2016/17 AmericasBarometer survey are used to estimate ordered and multinomial probit models to study the determinants of citizen preferences for constitutional change, distinguishing between amendment and replacement. The main findings reveal that preferences for reforming the Chilean constitution can be driven by greater discontent with public goods provision. These results remain robust when estimating pseudo‐panel models using cohort‐level data and examining coefficient stability. Moreover, higher levels of corruption are associated with a stronger demand for constitutional replacement, suggesting a potential rupture in the shared social contract due to poor governance and lower political equality.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ КОЛОРИСТИКИ ГОРОДСКОЙ СРЕДЫ ПОД ВЛИЯНИЕМ ЦВЕТОВОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ И ЦВЕТОВЫХ ПРЕДПОЧТЕНИЙ СУБЪЕКТА

Colour plays an important role in creating a safe and informative urban environment. However, there is still a tendency towards colour monotony or, on the contrary, chaotic flashy colours in the colourism of urban space. The globalisation process in urban planning also has a negative impact and leads to the loss of individual image and recognition of modern fast-growing cities, including Tyumen. The article studies the colouristics of the city, its formation under the influence of colour culture and colour preferences of citizens. The author compares the existing methods of formation of urban environment colouristics based on a set of different factors. A special place in the study is given to regional colour culture. Its basis lies in the colour preferences of a person, certain social groups or a nation. The study of the history of colour culture in Tyumen relies on historical and qualitative methods, analysis of archival materials, various written and visual documents. The study gives examples of the influence of colour culture on the formation of urban environment colourism. Field surveys of real architectural objects in the central part of Tyumen and the analysis of changes in colour preferences caused by the change of colour carriers made it possible to identify the colouristics peculiarities in the city in certain periods of its construction. Scientific novelty consists in an in-depth consideration of the formation of urban environment colouristics in the context of regional colour culture.

Spatial proximity matters, predispositions do not: explaining policy preferences for long-term natural disaster mitigation

AbstractVoter myopia, the inability and unwillingness of citizens to accept policies whose benefits only materialise over a long period, is often considered an almost inevitable feature of representative democracy. Recent studies have subjected this assumption to empirical scrutiny, but the extent to which variation in political future orientation of citizens is associated with support for alternative policies, with differing temporal profiles of benefits and costs, has remained largely uncharted. Utilising survey data from Finland (n = 1049), we study the associations spatial proximity to a regionally relevant problem, flooding and political future orientation have with choices between policy alternatives that distribute benefits differently between generations. We found that, while levels of political future orientation are not a significant determinant of the willingness to invest in the future wellbeing, heightened issue salience linked to geographic proximity to the potential event plays a role in shaping policy preferences.

Development of a scale to determine electricity generation preferences of Turkish citizens

Citizens' views should be clearly and openly presented to policymakers in decision-making processes regarding energy policies. Policy makers need to take into account the views of the public in order to provide support for the policies they will pursue. In this study, which was conducted using quantitative research methods, a scale was developed to determine the electricity generation preferences of individuals. Within the scope of the study, the validity and reliability analyses of this scale, whose items were developed by the researchers based on the literature review, were carried out. The results of the analyses show that the items under different factors exemplify similar behaviors and the internal consistency of the scale is high. The scale consists of 15 items and three sub-dimensions related to renewable, nuclear and thermal energy sources. Using this scale, the preferences of individuals in certain regions regarding energy production can be determined in a valid and reliable manner.

Visions for our future regional electricity system: Citizen preferences in four EU countries

As climate targets tighten, all countries must transition toward a renewable electricity system, but conflicts about generation and infrastructure deployment impede transition progress. Although the triggers of opposition are well studied, what people want remains understudied. We survey citizen preferences for a renewable electricity future through a conjoint analysis among 4,103 individuals in Denmark, Portugal, Poland, and Germany. With our study we go beyond the Likert scale survey approach specifically seeking trade-offs and contextualized preferences for regional electricity system designs. We show the importance of identifying both the "least preferred" and "most preferred" solutions and highlighting the possibility of identifying very different systems with identical utility. Lastly, our research actively bridges the divide between social aspects and techno-economic modeling, promoting their integration. We show that the most preferred system design in all four countries is a predominantly regional one, based on rooftop solar, communally owned, and not relying on transmission expansion.

An Investigation of the Perception of Neoclassical, Eclectic, Modernist, and Postmodern Architecture within Different Urban Landscapes: Athens vs. Paris

The public perception of buildings belonging to different architectural movements is a largely unexplored area from a quantitative scientific perspective. However, a better scientific understanding of perceptions of architectural movements is important for the formation of improved planning and design policies. In this work, we carry out an initial exploration of the public preferences of the architectural movements of Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. To this aim, a total of 103 citizens from Athens (Greece) and Paris (France) were presented with the same questions regarding their opinions on buildings belonging to those movements. In the analysis and interpretation of the collected data, the different cultural, professional, and demographic characteristics of participants were then considered, as well as the role of the urban landscapes of Athens and Paris as the historical, societal, and aesthetic contexts that influence and shape perceptions. The results demonstrated a clear and uniform prevalence of Neoclassical architecture in terms of positive public perception in both cities. Similarly, in both cities, Eclecticism followed with a relatively more positive perception than Modern and Postmodern architectural styles, which were rated the lowest. However, a significant difference between the two cities was that when participants singled out their primary favorite style, Modernism enjoyed higher favorability in Athens than in Paris. These findings and their theoretical exploration provide inferences into the complexities of public perceptions of architectural styles, with potential implications for the integration of citizen preferences into future research on architectural/urban design and planning.