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Participation quorum when voting is costly

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  • Matveenko, Andrei
  • Valei, Azamat
  • Vorobyev, Dmitriy

Abstract

Using a pivotal costly voting model of elections, we study how participation quorum requirements affect voters’ decisions to cast votes, and how they ultimately impact voter and candidate welfare. We solve the model analytically for the case of three voters and then provide numerical solutions for larger numbers of voters, and obtain several consistent results. First, we find that the effect of quorum requirements on voter turnout is non-monotonic and depends on ex-ante support for the candidates. When support for the status-quo is low, a stricter quorum requirement results in higher turnout, while when it is high, the relationship is reversed. Second, we show that a stricter quorum requirement does not necessarily benefit a status quo candidate and can sometimes decrease her chances of winning an election. Third, we characterize optimal quorum requirements from the perspective of voter welfare, and find that, while optimal requirements vary with support for the candidates, too strict and too lenient requirements can be very harmful to voter welfare. Therefore, setting moderate quorum requirements close to half of the number of voters or setting no quorum requirement at all may be reasonable choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Matveenko, Andrei & Valei, Azamat & Vorobyev, Dmitriy, 2022. "Participation quorum when voting is costly," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:73:y:2022:i:c:s0176268021001063
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2021.102126
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    Cited by:

    1. Dmitriy Vorobyev & Azamat Valei & Andrei Matveenko, 2023. "Approval vs. Participation Quorums," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_438, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

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    16. Luís Aguiar-Conraria & Pedro C. Magalhães & Christoph A. Vanberg, 2020. "What are the best quorum rules? A laboratory investigation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 215-231, October.
    17. Taylor, Curtis R. & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2010. "A unified analysis of rational voting with private values and group-specific costs," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 457-471, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Voting; Quorum; Participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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