@article{63acd8b1a4744e0496fb36d46e04b01c,
title = "Expressive vs. strategic voters: An empirical assessment",
abstract = "Leading theories of how voters choose between candidates are rooted in two very different paradigms, with starkly different behavioral implications. Exploiting the incentive structure of Germany's electoral system, I develop a novel set of empirical tests that pit the canonical pivotal voter model against alternative accounts according to which individuals derive expressive utility from supporting their most preferred candidate. The results show that neither paradigm can explain the most-salient features of the data. In addition, the evidence suggests that voters cannot be neatly categorized into sincere and strategic “types”.",
keywords = "Expressive voting, Strategic voting, Voter behavior",
author = "Spenkuch, {J{\"o}rg L.}",
note = "Funding Information: This article is based on the second chapter of my dissertation at the University of Chicago. Previous versions of this paper circulated under the titles “(Ir)rational Voters?” and “On the Extent of Strategic Voting.” I have benefitted from comments by Daron Acemoglu, Scott Ashworth, Gary Becker, Daniel Benjamin, Eric Budish, Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Steve Coate, Tony Cookson, Daniel Diermeier, Tim Feddersen, Alex Frankel, Richard Holden, Antonio Merlo, Matthew Notowidigdo, Nicola Persico, Jesse Shapiro, Yasutora Watanabe, and Richard Van Weelden. I am also indebted to Gabriele Sch{\"o}mel at the office of the Bundeswahlleiter for assistance in acquiring the data used in this paper. Steven Castongia provided excellent research assistance. Financial support from the Beryl W. Sprinkel Fund at the University of Chicago is gratefully acknowledged. All views expressed in this paper as well as any errors are solely my responsibility. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier B.V.",
year = "2018",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.06.008",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "165",
pages = "73--81",
journal = "Journal of Public Economics",
issn = "0047-2727",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}