PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL IN CHILE, 1990-2018: VARIANCE IN U-SHAPED CURVES 1 José Miguel Cabezas 2 and Patricio Navia 3 Abstract Studies on presidential approval in consolidated and emerg- ing democracies identify similar determinants of popular sup- port and show a common U-shaped cyclical pattern, with high- er levels of support during the honeymoon period and in the last year of the presidential term and lower support in the in-between years. Since democracy was restored in 1990, Chile has had six presidential terms. With some nuances, presidential approval has evolved following the same cyclical pattern of higher approval at the beginning and end of the administrations. Using 66 presiden- tial approval polls from Centro de Estudios Públicos between 1990 and 2018 (N=82,984), we assess the effect of party identification and economic vote variables on presidential approval. We show that party identification matters in the approval of all presidents. We also show that economic vote variables affect presidential ap- proval for all presidents, though the effect was stronger for Ricar- do Lagos (2000-2006) on average. Resumen Los estudios sobre aprobación presidencial en las democracias consolidadas y emergentes identifican determinantes similares de apoyo popular y muestran un patrón cíclico en forma de U, con ni- veles más altos de apoyo al comienzo del gobierno y en el último año del período presidencial y niveles más bajos en años interme- 1 This work was supported by Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica [Conicyt/Fondap/151300009] and Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico [1171051]. Replications are available upon request. 2 Assistant Professor, Society & Health Research Center, Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty, Universidad Mayor, jose.canbezas@umayor.cl. 3 Clinical Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University. Professor of Political Science, Universidad Diego Portales, patricio.navia@nyu.edu.