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Votes on behalf of children: a legitimate way of giving them a voice in politics?

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  • Stephan Wolf
  • Nils Goldschmidt
  • Thomas Petersen

Abstract

This article argues that the widely accepted principle of universal suffrage actually implies endowing children with voting power. The fact that children lack political maturity does not necessarily lead us to the conclusion that they should not have the right to vote. Parents, at least in principle, can act as their electoral custodians. The idea of letting parents vote on behalf of their children, however, raises one important question: are parents in fact able to make a genuine voting decision for their children, independently from their own decision, or will children’s suffrage just lead to a multiplication of parental choices? Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan Wolf & Nils Goldschmidt & Thomas Petersen, 2015. "Votes on behalf of children: a legitimate way of giving them a voice in politics?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 356-374, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:26:y:2015:i:3:p:356-374
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-015-9190-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew J. Oswald & Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2010. "Daughters and Left-Wing Voting," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(2), pages 213-227, May.
    2. Viktor Vanberg, 2011. "Liberal constitutionalism, constitutional liberalism and democracy," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Congleton,Roger D., 2011. "Perfecting Parliament," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521764605.
    4. Mueller,Dennis C., 2003. "Public Choice III," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521894753.
    5. Folbre, Nancy, 1994. "Children as Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 86-90, May.
    6. Patrick C. Meirick & Daniel B. Wackman, 2004. "Kids Voting and Political Knowledge: Narrowing Gaps, Informing Votes," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1161-1177, December.
    7. Gschwend, Thomas, 2004. "Ticket-Splitting and Strategic Voting," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 05-06, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.
    8. Ebonya L. Washington, 2008. "Female Socialization: How Daughters Affect Their Legislator Fathers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 311-332, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hizen, Yoichi & Kamijo, Yoshio & Tamura, Teruyuki, 2023. "Votes for excluded minorities and the voting behavior of the existing majority: A laboratory experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 348-361.
    2. Yoshio Kamijo & Yoichi Hizen & Tatsuyoshi Saijo & Teruyuki Tamura, 2019. "Voting on Behalf of a Future Generation: A Laboratory Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Shun Katsuki & Yoichi Hizen, 2020. "Does Voting Solve the Intergenerational Sustainability Dilemma?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Children’s suffrage; Universal suffrage; ‘One person; one vote’; Constitutional economics; D72; J13; K36;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • K36 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Family and Personal Law

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