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Loss Aversion, Presidential Responsibility, and Midterm Congressional Elections

Author

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  • John W. Patty

    (Carnegie Mellon University)

Abstract

I explore a behavioral model of political participation, first introduced by Quattrone and Tversky [1988], based on the primitives of prospect theory, as defined by Kahneman and Tversky [1979]. The model offers an alternative explanation for why the President’s party tends to lose seats in midterm congressional elections. The model is examined empirically and compared against competing explanations for the “midterm phenomenon”.

Suggested Citation

  • John W. Patty, 2005. "Loss Aversion, Presidential Responsibility, and Midterm Congressional Elections," Public Economics 0502007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwppe:0502007
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 40
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    File URL: https://econwpa.ub.uni-muenchen.de/econ-wp/pe/papers/0502/0502007.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alesina, Alberto & Rosenthal, Howard, 1996. "A Theory of Divided Government," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1311-1341, November.
    2. Alesina, Alberto & Rosenthal, Howard, 1989. "Partisan Cycles in Congressional Elections and the Macroeconomy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(2), pages 373-398, June.
    3. Born, Richard, 1986. "Strategic Politicians and Unresponsive Voters," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(2), pages 599-612, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Loss aversion; midterm elections; congressional elections; negative voting; midterm effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • H - Public Economics

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