Voting when money and morals conflict: an experimental test of expressive voting

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tyran, JR
• 署名单位: University of St Gallen
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(03)00016-1
• 发表日期: 2004
• 页码: 1645-1664
• 关键词: expressive voting; low-cost theory

摘要

Moral considerations may matter much in voting because the costs of expressing support for a morally worthy cause may be low in a referendum. These costs depend on whether a voter expects to affect the outcome of the referendum. To test the low-cost theory of expressive voting, we experimentally investigate a proposal to tax everyone and to donate tax revenues. The analysis of expectations and voting decisions shows that the low-cost theory fails to explain voting decisions. Instead, we find that voters tend to approve of the proposal if they expect others to approve, too. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.