Educational and class cleavages in voting behaviour in Belgium: The effect of income, EGP class and education on party choice in Flanders and Wallonia

This study compares the effect of EGP class, income and level of education on voting behaviour in Flanders and Wallonia and tests to what extent these effects are mediated by economic and cultural attitudes. Rather than using a left/right dichotomy or a one-dimensional left/right continuum, as is common in research on cleavage voting, we distinguish the main different parties in both regions. Using data from the 2008 European Social Survey, our Multinomial Logistic Regression analyses indicate some regional variation. We find that education generally plays a more important role in party choice in Flanders than in Wallonia, whereas income and EGP class are only relevant for party choice in Wallonia. These effects remain even when economic and cultural attitudes are controlled for. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that preferences for traditional left- or right-wing parties are influenced not only by economic concerns but also by education and cultural attitudes. Similarly, preferences for new left- or right-wing parties are affected by both education and income, as well as by attitudes towards economic and cultural issues, especially in Flanders. These results highlight the need to include all parties simultaneously when studying cleavage voting in multiparty systems. Acta Politica (2012) 47, 151-180. doi:10.1057/ap.2011.34; published online 23 December 2011