All Eyes on Them: A Field Experiment on Citizen Oversight and Electoral Integrity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Garbiras-Diaz, Natalia; Montenegro, Mateo
• 署名单位: European University Institute
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210778
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 2631-2668
• 关键词: ELECTION FRAUD EVIDENCE; INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS; VIOLENCE EVIDENCE; machine politics; BENFORDS LAW; ACCOUNTABILITY; clientelism; CORRUPTION; inference; selection

摘要

Can information and communication technologies help citizens monitor their elections? We analyze a large-scale field experiment designed to answer this question in Colombia. We leveraged Facebook advertisements sent to over 4 million potential voters to encourage citizen reporting of electoral irregularities. We also cross-randomized whether candidates were informed about the campaign in a subset of municipalities. Total reports, and evidence-backed ones, experienced a large increase. Across a wide array of measures, electoral irregularities decreased. Finally, the reporting campaign reduced the vote share of candidates dependent on irregularities. This light-touch intervention is more cost-effective than monitoring efforts traditionally used by policymakers.