Voting When Money and Morals Conflict: An Experimental Test of Expressive Voting
U of St. Gallen Econ. Working Paper No. 2002-07
35 Pages Posted: 4 May 2002
There are 2 versions of this paper
Voting When Money and Morals Conflict: An Experimental Test of Expressive Voting
Voting When Money and Morals Conflict: An Experimental Test of Expressive Voting
Date Written: April 2002
Abstract
Moral considerations may matter much in voting because the costs of expressing support for a morally worthy cause may be low in a referendum. These costs depend on whether a voter expects to affect the outcome of the referendum. To test the low-cost theory of expressive voting, we experimentally investigate a proposal to tax everyone and donate tax revenues. The analysis of expectations and voting decisions shows that expressive voting is common. However, the low-cost theory fails to explain voting decisions. Instead of affecting the costs of expressive voting, expectations appear to affect its benefits.
Keywords: Expressive voting, low-cost theory, laboratory experiments
JEL Classification: A13, C9, D72
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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