What Persuades Voters? A Field Experiment on Political Campaigning

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Barton, Jared; Castillo, Marco; Petrie, Ragan
• 署名单位: California State University System; California State University Channel Islands
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12093
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: F293-F326
• 关键词: voting-behavior; direct mail; partisan; messages; turnout; finance; models

摘要

Candidates spend considerable resources campaigning. Prior research indicates campaigning affects voting decisions but, as with advertising generally, what element of campaigning persuades - the content or its delivery method - is not fully understood. Using a field experiment in a 2010 general election for local office, we identify the mechanism behind one campaign method: candidate door-to-door canvassing. We vary both the method of contact and the information conveyed by campaign materials. We find that voters are persuaded by personal contact with the candidate and that personal contact apparently works by providing a costly signal of quality rather than through social pressure.