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Probabilistic Voting and Accountability in Elections with Uncertain Policy Constraints

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  • ADAM MEIROWITZ

Abstract

We consider accountability in repeated elections with two long‐lived parties that have distinct policy preferences and different levels of valence. In each period the government faces a privately observed feasibility constraint and selects a publicly observed policy vector. While pure strategy equilibria do not exhibit tight control on government policy making, complete control is possible in mixed strategies. In optimal equilibria voters use reelection functions which depend on policy in a manner that causes the governing party to internalize voter preferences. In these optimal equilibria the voters use different reelection functions for different parties.

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  • Adam Meirowitz, 2007. "Probabilistic Voting and Accountability in Elections with Uncertain Policy Constraints," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(1), pages 41-68, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:9:y:2007:i:1:p:41-68
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9779.2007.00297.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 135-135.
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    Cited by:

    1. Seok‐ju Cho, 2009. "Retrospective Voting and Political Representation," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 276-291, April.
    2. Takanori Adachi & Yoichi Hizen, 2014. "Political Accountability, Electoral Control and Media Bias," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 316-343, September.
    3. James E. Alt & Robert C. Lowry, 2010. "Transparency and Accountability: Empirical Results for Us States," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 22(4), pages 379-406, October.
    4. Mattozzi, Andrea & Levine, David, 2022. "Polarization and Electoral Balance," CEPR Discussion Papers 17538, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Banks, Jeffrey S. & Duggan, John, 2008. "A Dynamic Model of Democratic Elections in Multidimensional Policy Spaces," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 3(3), pages 269-299, October.
    6. César Martinelli & John Duggan, 2014. "The Political Economy of Dynamic Elections: A Survey and Some New Results," Working Papers 1403, Centro de Investigacion Economica, ITAM.
    7. Matthew C. Stephenson & Jide O. Nzelibe, 2010. "Political Accountability Under Alternative Institutional Regimes," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 22(2), pages 139-167, April.
    8. Duggan, John & Forand, Jean Guillaume, 2025. "Accountability in Markovian elections," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 183-217.
    9. Jean Guillaume Forand & John Duggan, 2013. "Markovian Elections," Working Papers 1305, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Oct 2013.
    10. John Duggan, 2013. "A Folk Theorem for Repeated Elections with Adverse Selection," Wallis Working Papers WP64, University of Rochester - Wallis Institute of Political Economy.

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