Who Does the European Union Represent? Evidence from Eurobarometer Survey Data
P5-01
Presented by: Alessio Albarello
Citizens’ opinion representation is a vital feature of democratic regimes. The European Union has been growing in relevance and spans over a large number of countries. Who does the European Union represent? By using the Eurobarometer surveys and a policy implementation dataset, I show that women and older people are less represented by the European Union policy. In particular, women are 5.4% more likely than men to express a majority opinion that does not receive policy representation. I show that women’s representation deficit comes from the the European Union failing to implement majority desired policy changes, especially in gendered-related areas such as consumer and environmental protection. For older people, instead, the differential representation is concentrated almost exclusively on disagreement over the European Union enlargement. Additionally, I show that the patterns of representation are compatible with unequal group engagement, but only for the gender bias. Young people receive a representation bonus even though they are less engaged with the European Union.