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Assessing the unidimensionality of political opinions. An indirect test of the persuasion bias

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  • Page, Lionel

Abstract

In an influential paper, (DeMarzo et al., 2003) propose a modelf of persuasion bias whereby people are overly influenced by repetitive information. Such a persuasion bias leads political opinions to be unidimensional with individuals converging to a single “left-right” dimension on every issues. Using a large dataset on political opinions on a wide range of issues just before a presidential election in France, I test whether political opinions are indeed unidimensional. I find that political opinions are far from being unidimensional and I discuss what it means for the persuasion model.

Suggested Citation

  • Page, Lionel, 2020. "Assessing the unidimensionality of political opinions. An indirect test of the persuasion bias," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 469-477.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:174:y:2020:i:c:p:469-477
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.11.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roemer, John E., 1998. "Why the poor do not expropriate the rich: an old argument in new garb," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 399-424, December.
    2. Peter M. DeMarzo & Dimitri Vayanos & Jeffrey Zwiebel, 2003. "Persuasion Bias, Social Influence, and Unidimensional Opinions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 909-968.
    3. Hiroshi Ono & Madeline Zavodny, 2003. "Gender and the Internet," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(1), pages 111-121, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social preferences; Voting behavior; Online survey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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