La influencia del tamaño de las localidades sobre la participación electoral: un análisis contextual de las elecciones locales de 2011 en Andalucía

Abstract

This article aims to revise the work of Ortega et al (2011) on the relationship between community size and electoral participation, from an individual perspective. Our study uses a multi-level approach, which combines individual and aggregate data in the electoral analysis. The 2011 local elections in Andalusia are analysed. Our findings show that community size has a negative effect on electoral participation of their residents. As the main underlying process of influence, small communities favour political efficacy among their inhabitants. Our results show that other individual characteristics, which relate individuals to their environments, as a length of local residence, localism and social interaction with neighbours had a positive effect on turnout, too