US politicians are considerably older than the people they represent. Ahead of the midterm elections, new research from the University of Gothenburg shows that the age composition of political institutions also matters for public trust. Political bodies that include both younger and older representatives are perceived as fairer and more trustworthy.
It's no secret that American politics is dominated by older politicians. When 81-year-old Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race amid concerns about his age, it was the then 78-year-old Donald Trump who ultimately entered the White House. The median age in the House of Representatives and the Senate was 58 and 65, respectively, while the average American was just 39 years old.
But isn't age just a number when it comes to how Americans perceive the legitimacy and trustworthiness of political institutions. This is the finding of a new international study involving researchers from the University of Gothenburg, published on 30 October in the academic journal British Journal of Political Science.
"When decision-making is dominated by older people, it can create the impression that some generations' perspectives are given more weight than others. Including both younger and older representatives can therefore strengthen perceptions that the decision-making process is fair and that institutions are trustworthy," says Aksel Sundström, a political science researcher at the University of Gothenburg.
Greater Age Diversity Increases Trust
In the study, more than 6,000 Americans were asked to evaluate hypothetical political committees with different age compositions. One committee consisted entirely of politicians aged 60 or older, while the other had an equal mix of politicians aged 60 or older and those under 40.
The results show that respondents were 21 percentage points more likely to perceive the decision-making process as fair when the committee included both younger and older politicians. The proportion expressing confidence in the committee's ability to make good decisions in the future was also 10 percentage points higher.
The effects were particularly strong among younger participants and those who identified as Democrats.
"What is interesting is that we see this pattern across the sample as a whole, but the effect is clearly stronger among those who identify as Democrats. This suggests that age representation can influence how people evaluate political institutions, but that its importance is also shaped by political values and party affiliation," says Aksel Sundström.
Experience Isn't Everything
So why does the age of politicians matter so much? According to the researchers, part of the explanation lies in the experiences that citizens believe their political representatives bring to the table.
Younger politicians are perceived as having a better understanding of younger generations' everyday lives and concerns about the future. In fact, 61 per cent of participants in the study believed that younger politicians are better at representing young people.
"Experience is, of course, valuable in politics, but it is not necessarily the case that more experience alone makes citizens perceive a political institution as more legitimate. In the eyes of voters, there also seems to be value in having decision-makers whose experiences are closer to their own," says Aksel Sundström.
Implications for Democratic Legitimacy
The researchers also conducted a similar experiment in the United Kingdom with more than 1,300 participants. The results followed the same pattern as in the United States: political institutions with a mix of younger and older representatives were perceived as more representative, fair and trustworthy.
Ahead of the US midterm elections, Aksel Sundström therefore argues that attention should also be paid to which generations gain political influence and how this, in turn, shapes citizens' perceptions of democracy.
"Political representation also has a generational dimension. How well different generations are represented can influence how people perceive the democratic system," he says.
By: Sara Bjurenvall
