On Measuring Political Consumerism: An Exploratory Study Among Young People in the UK and in Greece

Abstract

Political consumerism consists of buycotting and boycotting and refers to the conscious and consistent use of the market for ethical, environmental and eventually political considerations. Nevertheless, at present there is no academic consensus about how best to conceptualise and empirically measure this form of political participation. The aim of this article is to address this gap by constructing a comprehensive survey instrument to measure political consumerism, in the form of the ‘Political Consumerism Index’ (PCI). This PCI is tested for validity and reliability and applied to a primary sample of young people in the UK and Greece, to shed light on the differing underlying motivations of young political consumers in the two countries. A combination of linear regression analysis and a series of non-parametric tests reveal the distinct advantages of this PCI over the commonly-used dichotomous behavioural measures of political consumerism. Our analysis reveals that political consumerism in both the UK and Greece is driven by young people’s conviction about the effectiveness of their consumer behaviour, their environmental motivations and their willingness to sign online petitions or join protests. There are also important differences across the two groups. Young UK political consumers are more likely to be female, relatively older, with a stronger local community outlook and postmaterialist sensitivities. Instead, young political consumers in Greece demonstrate both a generalised rejection of partisan politics and believe that market competition brings out the worst in people, while they perceive political consumerism as a means to support their national economy.