Who favors enlargement?: Determinants of support for EU membership in the candidate countries' referenda

This paper investigates macro and micro determinants of support for EU membership in the new member and candidate countries of the EU. We find that favorable individual and regional characteristics are positively correlated with support for accession and voter participation. In contrast, those who should benefit from future EU transfers are less likely to participate and/or support EU membership. It appears that voters in the new member states assign greater weight on future benefits from liberalization and integration than on potential gains through redistribution. This pattern is similar to the support for market-oriented reforms, suggesting that voters may see EU membership as the ultimate step in the transition from communism to democracy and a market economy.