Value for money: Political consumerism in Israel

Studies of political consumerism and of political consumers tend to ask general questions about motivations and tendencies among specific segments of society and investigate the likelihood of the political attitudes of specific social identities to affect consumer choices. In contrast, we examine how political consumerism is influenced by both individual characteristics and the communities in which these individuals live. In addition, we explore whether specific issues of political consumerism - environmental concerns, social justice, and religion - exist independently of general political consumerism. Finally, we attempt to determine the relationship between these different focuses of political consumerism. Based on a survey conducted in August 2010 in Israel of a random sample of 603 adult Jewish Israelis, we delineate the general trends of political consumerism. We then present a regression model to further explore the different paths of political consumerism. This article concludes with a model developed using structural equation modeling in which the different factors and paths are brought together in order to understand the relationship between the three paths of political consumerism.