Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

Faculty Voter Registration in Economics, History, Journalism, Law, and Psychology

by , , and

Download this article

Downloads
2,482 article downloads
811 complete issue downloads
Total: 3,293

Abstract

We investigate the voter registration of faculty at 40 leading U.S. universities in the fields of Economics, History, Journalism/Communications, Law, and Psychology. We looked up 7,243 professors and found 3,623 to be registered Democratic and 314 Republican, for an overall D:R ratio of 11.5:1. The D:R ratios for the five fields were: Economics 4.5:1, History 33.5:1, Journalism/Communications 20.0:1, Law 8.6:1, and Psychology 17.4:1. The results indicate that D:R ratios have increased since 2004, and the age profile suggests that in the future they will be even higher. We provide a breakdown by department at each university. The data support the established finding that D:R ratios are highest at the apex of disciplinary pyramids, that is, at the most prestigious departments. We also examine how D:R ratios vary by gender and by region. People interested in ideological diversity or concerned about the errors of leftist outlooks—including students, parents, donors, and taxpayers—might find our results deeply troubling.

EJW News item related to this article: Langbert, Quain, and Klein to rectify coverage error (October 4, 2016).

in

Download this article

Volume (Issue)
Pages
422–451
Published
JEL classification
I23, A11, A22
Keywords
Voter registration, academia, ideology, political parties, professors
Downloads
2,482 article downloads
811 complete issue downloads
Total: 3,293

Discuss this article!