VOTER TURNOUT IN THE INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACIES DURING THE 1980S

There are two contending accounts of cross-national variation in voter turnout rates. One emphasizes the role of institutions and electoral attributes, whereas the other stresses cultural and historical factors . The authors evaluate the merits of these two arguments. They first a pply the model developed by R.W. Jackman to turnout rates during the 1 980s, expanding the sample of industrial states to include three newer democracies with recent authoritarian histories: Greece, Portugal, an d Spain. They then examine the potential impact of cultural variables on voter turnout rates. The authors conclude that the institutional ar gument outperforms the cultural account of conventional political part icipation.