Self-signaling in voting

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mechtenberg, Lydia; Perino, Grischa; Treich, Nicolas; Tyran, Jean -Robert; Wang, Stephanie W.
• 署名单位: University of Hamburg; Universite de Toulouse; Universite Toulouse 1 Capitole; Toulouse School of Economics; INRAE; University of Vienna; University of Copenhagen; University of Economics Bratislava; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105070
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: Voting; self-image; Multi -wave field experiment; Information processing; Animal welfare

摘要

This paper presents a two-wave survey experiment to examine the impact of self-image concerns on voting behavior. We elicit votes on a ballot initiative on animal welfare in Switzerland that spurred campaigns involving widely shared normative values. We send a message to voters about scientific evidence supporting the claim that good-hearted people tend to be good to animals. We interpret this message as a factor that may alter the selfsignaling value linked to voting in favor of the initiative. We investigate how this message affects selection and processing of information, as well as reported voting behavior. We find that the message is effective in several ways: voters agree more with arguments in favor of the initiative, are more likely to anticipate voting in favor, and do report having voted in favor of the initiative more often.