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Does universalization ethics justify participation in large elections?

Author

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  • Konrad Dierks

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Ingela Alger

    (CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Jean-François Laslier

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

What drives voters' decisions to participate in large elections under costly voting, despite the rational expectation that this has no impact on the outcome? We propose a new model of ethical voters, by positing that they have Kantian or semi-Kantian preferences. With such preferences, voters evaluate their behavior in light of what the outcome would be, should a fraction of the other voters choose the same course of action. The "other voters" can be either the entire population ("non-partisan ethics") or the individuals with same interest ("partisan ethics"). In a model with two candi-dates and a continuum of voters, we find that turnout is strictly positive as soon as the evaluation by the voters of the political outcome is not strictly of the "winner-take-all" kind. Moreover, the equilibrium turnout rates depend on the specifics of the election at hand, such as the relative stake of the election for the two supporter groups and the presence of core constituent groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Konrad Dierks & Ingela Alger & Jean-François Laslier, 2024. "Does universalization ethics justify participation in large elections?," Working Papers hal-04569673, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04569673
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04569673v1
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Thomas Eichner & Marco Runkel, 2025. "Morality-Induced Leakage and Decentralized Environmental Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 11698, CESifo.
    3. Jean-François Laslier, 2023. "Universalization and altruism," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 60(4), pages 579-594, May.
    4. Salonia, Enrico Mattia, 2024. "A Foundation for Universalisation in Games," TSE Working Papers 24-1586, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    5. Gregory Ponthiere, 2024. "Epictetusian rationality and evolutionary stability," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 647-673, July.
    6. Esteban Muñoz Sobrado, 2022. "Taxing Moral Agents," CESifo Working Paper Series 9867, CESifo.
    7. Mathieu Guigourez, 2025. "Commitment, Kantian Economics and Climate Change: Rethinking Rational Choice and Individual Responsibility," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 25002, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    8. Thomas Neuber, 2021. "Egocentric Norm Adoption," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2021_323, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

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