Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Dealing with the Economic Explanation of Voting Choice

Economic voting theory provides an important rationale to representative
governments. However, the economic explanation of voting choice find itself
between a rock and a hard place: the retrospective/sanctioning approach on
the one hand, and the prospective/selection one on the other. This paper
suggest that the integration of these two perspectives might lead to a superior
solution, and provides a simple model of Selection and Updating. The empirical assessment is made with reference to two political elections held in Italy
(2006) and in the UK (2005). Evidence is found for the British case, while the
Italian one remains empirically puzzling.