Evaluating Whether Relational Goods Increase Political Participation

• In Event: Electoral Participation

Abstract

Relational goods can account for otherwise theoretically surprising levels of political participation. People who value relational goods may often engage in collective action, notably including political participation, even when without the relational goods it would be more rational for them to free-ride on the activity of others. After presenting the theory, this paper will use a new data set, the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), to test the theory and compare its performance across ethnic groups.
Relational goods are neither public goods nor private goods. This third type of good must be jointly consumed with other people (unlike private goods), but the identity of the other persons matters crucially (unlike the case for public goods). Relational goods can only exist by mutual agreement as part of a relationship with non-arbitrary others. Friendship is a prototypical example of a “direct” relational good that exists when there is direct personal contact. Some other relational goods are “indirect,” ones where the interaction may be at a distance but with a certain type of person. For example, an indirect relational good may involve reinforcing a desired social identity including racial or ethnic identity. The distinction between “consumption” and “instrumental” goods also applies to relational goods. The consumption relational goods are received independent of any consequences of action, while instrumental ones reflect consequences.
All of these types of relational goods increase the likelihood of collective action, even when action is costly, as long as the person perceives that significant others value activity. Relational goods add to the benefits of action independent of the probability of the individual being decisive (instrumental ones interact with the odds of the group’s success). Moreover, the theory implies that groups become more prone to collective activity as they increase in size, not less. Perhaps most importantly, relational goods provide a theoretical basis for the individual level mechanisms of mobilization. When people value relational goods, leaders can stimulate participation by influencing people’s perceptions of what others are doing, of the value of a shared identity, and of the likelihood of success.
The 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS) provides a rich (U.S.) data set to empirically test the relational goods argument. The theory predicts that individuals will participate more if they believe that the people they care about consider political activity important. The increase is larger for persons with a stronger sense of identity and for those who feel represented by some leader. Moreover, the effect will be stronger for activities which are more publicly visible. The CMPS includes samples of Latino, African American, Asian American, and non-Hispanic whites. This sampling frame is particularly useful given the prominence of ethnic and racial identities in contemporary U.S. politics. The CMPS measures various types of political participation, including voting, campaigning, contacting, protesting, economic action, and community activities, as well as items tapping the usual predictors of participation. Other items tap strength of connection with a racial or ethnic group. Most important for the present paper, the CMPS also includes items that explicitly address relational goods. One battery assesses the respondent’s perception of the importance which significant others place on different types of participation. Other items tap connections to political leaders. Thus the data provide an exceptional opportunity to analyze whether relational goods increase participation and how this varies by type of activity and across ethnic groups.

Author

• Carole Jean Uhlaner, University of California, Irvine