Contextual moderations of electoral educational inequalities in European countries

INEQUALITIES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Abstract. This paper examines educational inequalities of voter participation in parliamentary elections in Europe and Russia. These inequalities, reflecting, as research in Western and Eastern Europe suggests, some of the most pronounced structural differences in voting, may differ markedly across countries, presumably due to their socio-economic development and the state of democratic institutions. In order to test these assumptions, we consider survey data from the European Social Survey (ESS, Round 9) conducted in 28 European countries, including Russia (Round 8), as well as statistical and analytical data on the prevalence of corruption in these countries, the state of unemployment and other characteristics. Statistical analysis is performed using two-level logistic modeling with random coefficients for individual-level variables and explanation of their differences by contextual factors. The results confirm that participation in parliamentary elections is closely related to the education of voters — with its growth the probability of voting increases significantly. This correlation is conditioned by the social context — the electoral activity of educated strata begins to decline as the quality of democratic institutions indicated by corruption perception deteriorates. As the country faces growing economic problems, evidenced by higher unemployment rates, people with low education are more likely to participate in the election of the parliament.