‘More Indian youth interested in politics’

NEW DELHI: Are young people in richer countries less interested in politics than those in poorer countries? Yes, says the World Bank’s World Development Report, 2007, released on Saturday. 

The percentage of youth (the 18-24 age group) ‘very’ or ‘rather’ interested in politics in India rose from around 35 per cent in 1990 to around 50 per cent in 2000, the study notes, after analysing data from a World Values Survey.

While interest levels are on the rise in China, India and Nigeria (grouped as low-income countries), they show a declining trend in Argentina, the Russian Federation and Turkey (middle income countries) and Finland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom (high income countries).

Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, Centre for Policy Research, finds parallels with voting behaviour within India; voter turnout increases as one goes down the income ladder. That, he says, could be because voting could be the only avenue of participation in political life for the poor. 

Participation levels of India’s youth, however, were close to half of China’s, where the increase in interest was more muted than India’s perhaps because of already high interest levels. It isn’t only because of the ubiquitous presence of the Communist Party of China. Mehta notes that for a lot of functions affecting citizens, there is a lot more genuine decentralisation in China.

Participation levels also vary with age, with interest levels declining as age increases in the lower income countries. While 46.3 per cent of people in the 18-29 age group in India were interested in politics, the percentage declines to 40.5 per cent in the 65+ age group. It’s just the reverse in the higher income countries.

In the United States, for example, 58.5 per cent of the 18-29 age group were interested in politics; the percentage increased to 83.5 per cent in the 65+ age group.

It has mainly to do with the demographic profiles of societies, the report says. The large share of ageing populations in the advanced economies means concerns of older citizens dominate public policy, while issues relating to youth dominate discourses in the developing nations. Moreover, the power, prestige and legitimacy of the state have got reduced over time in the more advanced economies. Hence, the reduced interest among the youth.

The report finds that youth in the lower income countries have a higher level of confidence in the civil service than those in high-income countries, a point Mehta concedes. Despite all the disillusionment with the state machinery, it is still seen as better than market or civil society mechanisms, he says. “The space of the state in politics is seen as more open and inclusive,” he argues.

Interestingly, young people in the low-income countries are more likely to believe that businesses should be privately-owned than their counterparts in the richer countries. While 19.3 per cent of youth in the 18-29 age group in India felt private ownership of business should be increased, only 14.3 per cent in Canada, 7 per cent in South Korea and 4.9 per cent in Japan felt the same.