| Abstract: |
In their seminal paper, Harrington and Hess (1996) discuss a model where
candidates differ along two dimensions - ideology which is modeled by the
standard Hotelling-Downs formulation and valence factors which encompass
traits which all voters agree as desirable. While valence factor is given, the
voter perception of a candidate’s ideology can be influenced via advertising.
In this expository note, we extend the model model to take account of valence
as well as ideological advertising but we restrict our attention only to
negative advertising. We find that when the available resources are
sufficiently small and certain technical conditions are fulfilled, the
expected result holds, namely, the candidate with the higher initial valence
index will run a relatively personal campaign while the candidate with the
lower initial valence index will run an ideological campaign. |