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Is voting skin-deep? Estimating the effect of candidate ballot photographs on election outcomes

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Author Info
Leigh, Andrew
Susilo, Tirta

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Abstract

In the Northern Territory, Australia, ballot papers for territory elections depict candidates' photographs. We exploit this unusual electoral feature by looking at the effect that candidates' beauty and skin color has on voting patterns. Our results for beauty are mixed, but we find strong evidence that skin color matters. In electorates with a small Indigenous population, lighter-skinned candidates receive more votes, while in electorates with a high number of Indigenous people, darker-skinned candidates are rewarded at the ballot box. The relationship between skin color and electoral performance is stronger for challengers than incumbents. We explain this with a model in which voters use skin color as a proxy for some underlying characteristic which they value only to the extent that they share the trait.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V8H-4TDC08X-D/2/f2cd367d9beafbba454c19c9bb7b4446
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Economic Psychology.

Volume (Year): 30 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (February)
Pages: 61-70
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Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:30:y:2009:i:1:p:61-70

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Related research
Keywords: Elections Beauty Race Facial characteristics;

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  1. Joseph Price & Justin Wolfers, 2007. "Racial Discrimination Among NBA Referees," IZA Discussion Papers 2863, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Arthur H. Goldsmith & Darrick Hamilton & William Darity, 2006. "Shades of Discrimination: Skin Tone and Wages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 242-245, May. [Downloadable!]
  3. Berggren, Niclas & Jordahl, Henrik & Poutvaara, Panu, 2006. "The Looks of a Winner: Beauty, Gender and Electoral Success," Working Paper Series 671, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Michael A. Stoll & Steven Raphael & Harry J. Holzer, 2004. "Black job applicants and the hiring officer's race," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 57(2), pages 267-287, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. John G. Matsusaka, 2005. "Direct Democracy Works," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 185-206, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Arthur H. Goldsmith & Darrick Hamilton & William Darity, Jr, 2007. "From Dark to Light: Skin Color and Wages Among African-Americans," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(4). [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Donohue, John J, III & Levitt, Steven D, 2001. "The Impact of Race on Policing and Arrests," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 367-94, October.
  8. Kate L. Antonovics & Brian G. Knight, 2004. "A New Look at Racial Profiling: Evidence from the Boston Police Department," NBER Working Papers 10634, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Mason, Patrick L., 2004. "Annual income, hourly wages, and identity Among Mexican Americans and other Latinos," MPRA Paper 11326, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  10. Joni Hersch, 2008. "Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 345-386, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Hamermesh, Daniel S., 2006. "Changing looks and changing "discrimination": The beauty of economists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 405-412, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Joni Hersch, 2006. "Skin-Tone Effects among African Americans: Perceptions and Reality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 251-255, May. [Downloadable!]
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