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Salience and accountability: School infrastructure and last-minute electoral punishment

Author

Listed:
  • Nicolás Ajzenman

    (Sao Paulo School of Economics - FGV)

  • Ruben Durante

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Abstract

Can seemingly unimportant factors influence voting decisions by making certain issues salient? We study this question in the context of Argentina 2015 presidential elections by examining how the quality of the infrastructure of the school where citizens were assigned to vote influenced their voting choice. Exploiting the quasi-random assignment of voters to ballot stations located in different public schools in the city of Buenos Aires, we find that individuals assigned to schools with poorer infrastructure were significantly less likely to vote for Mauricio Macri, the incumbent mayor then running for president. The effect is larger in low-income areas - where fewer people can afford private substitutes to public education - and in places where more households have children in school age. The effect is unlikely to be driven by information scarcity, since information on public school infrastructure was readily available to parents before elections. Rather, direct exposure to poor school infrastructure at the time of voting is likely to make public education - and the poor performance of the incumbent - more salient.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolás Ajzenman & Ruben Durante, 2021. "Salience and accountability: School infrastructure and last-minute electoral punishment," Working Papers 63, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    • Handle: RePEc:aoz:wpaper:63
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Víctor Mauricio Castañeda-Rodríguez & Gaetano Lisi, 2024. "Can public efficiency increase tax morale? Evidence from 18 Latin American countries," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 209-231, June.
    3. repec:aep:anales:4667 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:aep:anales:4648 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Nicolás Ajzenman & Eleonora Bertoni & Gregory Elacqua & Luana Marotta & Carolina Méndez Vargas, 2024. "Altruism or Money? Reducing Teacher Sorting Using Behavioral Strategies in Peru," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(4), pages 1049-1091.
    6. Cox, Loreto & Eyzaguirre, Sylvia & Gallego, Francisco A. & García, Maximiliano, 2024. "Punishing mayors who fail the test: How do voters respond to information about educational outcomes?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    7. Ajzenman, Nicolás & Elacqua, Gregory & Marotta, Luana & Westh Olsen, Anne Sofie, 2021. "Order Effects and Employment Decisions: Experimental Evidence from a Nationwide Program," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 11541, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Sebastián Einstoss, 2024. "“Todo está guardado en la memoria”: The Aftermath of State Violence in Argentina," Young Researchers Working Papers 14, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Jul 2024.
    9. Nils Braakmann & Wessel N. Vermeulen, 2023. "Do mass layoffs affect voting behaviour? Evidence from the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 922-950, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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