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The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses and compares two kinds of logic that explain electoral behaviour: the performance vote and the ideological vote. To be exact, this paper puts one of the main hypotheses of both theories to the test: that the rules guiding citizens' voting decisions are the same, regardless of their level of interest, knowledge and information about political matters. In order to do this, empirical material taken from post-electoral surveys in four democracies —Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Poland— is analysed. The data belongs to the second module of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES 2005) programme which contains information on citizens' electoral conduct and knowledge of politics. The results indicate that while the influence of political knowledge on the logic of the performance vote is clear and conclusive, it is much less conclusive in the case of the ideological vote. All this suggests that democratic control of governments through sanctioning their performance requires citizens to have minimum levels of knowledge and information about politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than three decades of international best practice and a rich body of scholarship demonstrate that women's policy machinery (WPM) is a crucial tool for promoting feminist policymaking. A new and unstudied form of WPM is emerging at the sub-national level. In this paper, we examine the effects of (1) regional leftist party governance and (2) sub-state durability on feminist policymaking. We employ Stetson and Mazur's model of effective, feminist WPM and operationalize policy Influence and Access provided to feminist groups. Drawing on four regional cases within Spain and Poland, we use field research, interviews, and party documents to examine whether regional leftist party governance and federalized state structure are associated with WPM 'Leaders' in feminist policymaking. We find that regional leftist governance is associated with WPMs that offer feminist policy and empower feminist groups; however, sub-state durability modifies the impact of party governance. We conclude with suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]