If people vote because they like to, then why do so many of them lie?

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If people vote because they like to, then why do so many of them lie?

Author Info

William T. Harbaugh (Univ. of Oregon)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

William Harbaugh

Abstract

Of those eligible, about 40% do not vote in presidential elections. When asked, about a quarter of those nonvoters will lie to the survey takers and claim that they did. Increases in education are associated with higher voting rates and lower rates of lying overall, but with increased rates of lying conditional on not voting. This paper proposes a model of voter turnout in which people who claim to vote get praise from other citizens. Those who lie must bear a cost of lying. The model has a stable equilibrium with positive rates of voting, honest non-voting, and lying. Reasonable parameter changes produce changes in these proportions in the same direction as the changes actually observed across education levels.

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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Public Economics with number 9606002.

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Length: 17 pages
Date of creation: 27 Jun 1996
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:9606002

Note: Type of Document - Wordperfect; prepared on IBM PC ; pages: 17; figures: request from author
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Article
- Harbaugh, W T, 1996. " If People Vote Because They Like to, Then Why Do So Many of Them Lie?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 89(1-2), pages 63-76, October.

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Models of Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Ashenfelter, Orley C & Kelley, Stanley, Jr, 1975. "Determinants of Participation in Presidential Elections," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 695-733, December.

Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

Juan Carlos Berganza, 2000. "Politicians, voters and electoral processes: an overview," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 24(3), pages 501-543, September. [Downloadable!]
John P. Conley & Myrna Wooders, 2005. "Memetics & Voting: How Nature May Make us Public Spirited," Working Papers 0514, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University. [Downloadable!]
Castanheira, Micael, 2002. "On the (Non) Paradox of (Not) Voting," CEPR Discussion Papers 3126, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Conley, John P. & Toossi, Ali & Wooders, Myrna, 2001. "Evolution & voting : how nature makes us public spirited," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 601, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]

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