What Makes Voters Turn Out: The Effects of Polls and Beliefs,”working paper, Caltech
| Title: | What Makes Voters Turn Out: The Effects of Polls and Beliefs,”working paper, Caltech |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Marina Agranov; Jacob K. Goeree; Julian Romero; Leeat Yariv; Jel Classification C |
| Contributors: | The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
| Source: | http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~lyariv/Papers/CostlyParticipation.pdf. |
| Publication Year: | 2012 |
| Collection: | CiteSeerX |
| Subject Terms: | Collective Choice; Polls; Strategic Voting |
| Description: | We use laboratory experiments to test for one of the foundations of the rational voter paradigm —that voters respond to probabilities of being pivotal. We exploit a setup that entails stark theoretical effects of information concerning the preference distribution (as revealed through polls) on costly participation decisions. The data reveal several insights. First, voting propensity increases systematically with subjects ’ predictions of their preferred alternative’s advantage. Consequently, preelection polls do not exhibit the detrimental welfare effects that extant theoretical work predicts. They lead to more participation by the expected majority and generate more landslide elections. Finally, we investigate subjects’behavior in polls and identify when Bandwagon and Underdog Effects arise. |
| Document Type: | text |
| File Description: | application/pdf |
| Language: | English |
| Relation: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.298.3982; http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~lyariv/Papers/CostlyParticipation.pdf |
| Availability: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.298.3982; http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~lyariv/Papers/CostlyParticipation.pdf |
| Rights: | Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
| Accession Number: | edsbas.AF195760 |
| Database: | BASE |