Abstract
Altruistic punishment is a fundamental driver for cooperation in human interactions. In this paper, we expand our understanding of this form of pro-social behavior to help explain a puzzle of voting: why do individuals who are indifferent between two potential policy outcomes of an election participate when voting is costly? Using a simple voting experiment, we provide robust evidence that many voters are willing to engage in voting as a form of punishment, even when voting is costly and the voter has no monetary stake in the election outcome. In our sample, and in a robustness check through Monte Carlo simulation, we show that at least fourteen percent of individuals are willing to incur a cost to vote against candidates who broke their electoral promises, even when they have no pecuniary interest in the election outcome.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Tidsskrift | European Journal of Political Economy |
Vol/bind | 53 |
Sider (fra-til) | 149-160 |
Antal sider | 12 |
ISSN | 0176-2680 |
DOI | |
Status | Udgivet - jul. 2018 |
Udgivet eksternt | Ja |
Emneord
- Voting
- Altruistic punishment
- Laboratory experiment