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Do Voters Vote Ideologically?, Third Version

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Author Info
Arianna Degan () (Department of Economics, UQAM and CIRPEE)
Antonio Merlo () (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

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Abstract

In this paper we address the following question: To what extent is the hypothesis that voters vote “ideologically” (i.e., they always vote for the candidate who is ideologically “closest” to them) testable or falsifiable? We show that using data only on how individuals vote in a single election, the hypothesis that voters vote ideologically is irrefutable, regardless of the number of candidates competing in the election. On the other hand, using data on how the same individuals vote in multiple elections, the hypothesis that voters vote ideologically is potentially falsifiable, and we provide general conditions under which the hypothesis can be tested.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania in its series PIER Working Paper Archive with number 08-034.

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Length: 49 pages
Date of creation: 01 Jan 2007
Date of revision: 01 Aug 2008
Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:08-034

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Related research
Keywords: voting; spatial models; falsifiability; testing;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: General - - - Hypothesis Testing
C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods and Programming - - - Computational Techniques

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References listed on IDEAS
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    Other versions:
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  4. Arianna Degan & Antonio Merlo, 2006. "A Structural Model of Turnout and Voting in Multiple Elections," PIER Working Paper Archive 07-011, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 01 Feb 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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