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Additional Information
Additional Information
The study is based on election analyses and representative statistics from Germany’s Federal Returning Officer and three state-level statistical offices: that of Bremen and the combined offices of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein as well as Berlin and Brandenburg. The data for Austria came from academic studies and especially from publications that appeared in the context of the Austrian National Election Study (AUTNES). Statements regarding the social selectivity among young people are based on an empirical analysis of the database of the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES). Information on age structure is based on data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Forecasts on demographic trends from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin were used when estimating social aging processes in Germany.
Furthermore, the study also considered the results of a representative survey of the population on the issue of lowering the legal voting age to 16. The survey was conducted on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in September 2015 by the Allensbach Institute (IfD Allensbach), one of Germany’s most respected opinion and market research institutes.