Construction of a Composite Index of European Identity

Abstract

In this work, we build a Composite Index of European Identification. We analyse the main theoretical backgrounds explaining citizens' identification with Europe and the alternative types of identities (civic against the ethnic-cultural constructions) and the social psychology theory (based on awareness, emotional attachment and evaluation). We have found that neither of them report spatially homogeneous results over Europe. The proposed solution in this work is the use of fuzzy set techniques. This option is flexible enough to report an index of identification with Europe at the individual level. The Composite Index of European Identity a report an alternative specification to the self-reported perception given by individuals. In this work, we have reported a brief description of the index, which report higher values in Eastern European countries and Spain, and lower average figures in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and the Netherlands. The index is clearly increasing with education, income and city size, and does not display any first-sight association with respondent's age and gender. The Composite Index is an important complement to the survey's scores, as it captures the grounds in which social identification is built and consequently displays a more robust picture of the determinants of European identity and particularly by the role played by regional policies.