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Compulsory Voting, Turnout, and Government Spending: Evidence from Austria

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  • Mitchell Hoffman
  • Gianmarco León
  • María Lombardi

Abstract

We study a unique quasi-experiment in Austria, where compulsory voting laws are changed across Austria's nine states at different times. Analyzing state and national elections from 1949-2010, we show that compulsory voting laws with weakly enforced fines increase turnout by roughly 10 percentage points. However, we find no evidence that this change in turnout affected government spending patterns (in levels or composition) or electoral outcomes. Individual-level data on turnout and political preferences suggest these results occur because individuals swayed to vote due to compulsory voting are more likely to be non-partisan, have low interest in politics, and be uninformed.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell Hoffman & Gianmarco León & María Lombardi, 2016. "Compulsory Voting, Turnout, and Government Spending: Evidence from Austria," NBER Working Papers 22221, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22221
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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