The Brexit referendum and three types of regret

B-Tier
Journal: Public Choice
Year: 2022
Volume: 193
Issue: 3
Pages: 275-291

Authors (2)

Stephen Drinkwater (not in RePEc) Colin Jennings (King's College London)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we examine three forms of regret in relation to the UK’s hugely significant referendum on EU membership that was held in June 2016. They are: (i) whether ‘leave’ voters at the referendum subsequently regretted their choice (in the light of the result), (ii) whether non-voters regretted their decisions to abstain (essentially supporting ‘remain’) and (iii) whether individuals were more likely to indicate that it is everyone’s duty to vote following the referendum. We find evidence in favor of all three types of regret. In particular, leave voters and non-voters were significantly more likely to indicate that they would vote to remain given a chance to do so again; moreover, the probability of an individual stating that it was everyone’s duty to vote in a general election increased significantly in 2017 (compared to 2015). The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of the referendum’s outcome.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:kap:pubcho:v:193:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-022-00997-z
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25