This dissertation develops and empirically tests a theory of political participation that
posits that the local economic context moderates the effects of individualsÂ
socioeconomic status by influencing their prospective financial outlooks. These
perceptions, in turn, affect individuals likelihood of engaging in various political
activities. I examine the theory using indicators of economic vitality and status both for
the entire population and for racial and ethnic group-specific economic conditions. This
two-pronged approach allows me to assess the extent to which group-specific conditions
are more salient for minority group members than are more traditional contextual (full
population) measures that reflect the economic status of the entire population. Thus,
such questions as whether blacks financial outlooks are influenced more by the
visibility of black-owned businesses or by the total visibility of business activity are
addressed. Hypotheses are tested using the 1992 National Election Study, the 1995
Texas Minority Survey, and economic data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1992
Economic Census. Results indicate that the financial perceptions of blacks and Latinos
are significantly related to levels of political activity while the financial outlooks of
Asians and whites are not significantly related to their political activity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/3793 |
| Date | 16 August 2006 |
| Creators | Suthammanont, Christina Marie |
| Contributors | Leighley, Jan E., Peterson, David A.M. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 1016788 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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