Living alone and electoral behavior. A contextual approach looking at single-person households in southern Europe

According to the background literature, there has been a significant increase recently in single-person households. However, few studies have analyzed the socio-economic characteristics of single-person households, and, to our knowledge, no analysis linking this type of household with electoral geography has yet been carried out. This paper proposes a socio-territorial approach to studying single-person households in the two largest cities in Andalusia (Seville and Malaga) and their link with support for left-wing, right-wing, and populist parties, with a spatial statistical analysis carried out at census tract level to measure their isolation and spatial concentration level. Later, using Geographic Weighted Regressions models, we analyze the central and local trends in the relationship between voting for the types of parties proposed, income level, and the presence of single-person households in the territory. Our results shed light on the relationship between the presence of single-person households, with their increased degree of loneliness, and voting for right-wing parties. Finally, we project a multinomial logistic model to explain the characteristics of the census tracts in Sevilla and Malaga based on the proportions of single-person households, in which the results show varying relationships between the vote for right populist parties and the proportions of single person households. • Using econometric and GWR models, an analysis is carried out on the relationship between living alone and electoral behavior at a local level. • In Spain's large cities, single-person households are concentrated in the central areas of cities, characterised by a low level of income in general. • Ageing and lower income levels in Seville and Malaga presents a picture of living alone that is a far cry a lifestyle chosen by young professionals who maintain high levels of social interaction. • In terms electoral behaivor on a local level the vote for the right and far-right populism is found in areas with a high level of income and education. • The complex relationship between living alone and voting, highlights the importance of carrying out spatial analysis to analyze their socio-territorial patterns and electoral behavior.