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on Collective Decision-Making |
| By: | Salla Simola (Storytel); Jeremias Nieminen (Department of Economics, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku.); Janne Tukiainen (Department of Economics, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku.) |
| Abstract: | We use novel data to describe the evolution of party differences in parliamentary speech in Finland during 1907–2018. We find a peak in left-right polarization in the 1970s, driven by the extreme left party, and co-occuring with a high prevalance of Soviet Union related phrases, perhaps resulting from Soviet information influencing. The period was also marked with short-lived coalition governments and inefficient policymaking. Moreover, as we find that left-right partisanship fluctuates during the majority of the 20th century, our results show that the levels of polarization currently perceived as high in many countries may not be that exceptional. |
| Keywords: | text analysis, parliamentary speech, polarization |
| JEL: | D72 P00 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tkk:dpaper:dp160&r=cdm |
| By: | Scholl, Almuth |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how distributional and electoral concerns shape sovereign default incentives within a quantitative model of sovereign debt with heterogeneous agents and non-linear income taxation. The small open economy is characterized by a two-party system in which the left-wing party has a larger preference for redistribution than the right-wing party. Political turnover is the endogenous outcome of the electoral process. Fiscal policy faces a tradeoff: On the one hand, the government has incentives to fi- nance redistribution via external debt to avoid distortionary income taxation. On the other hand, the accumulation of external debt raises the cost of borrowing. Quanti- tative findings suggest that the left-wing party implements a more progressive income tax, is more prone to default, and has a lower electoral support than the right-wing party due to worse borrowing conditions and the distortionary effects of income taxa- tion. In equilibrium, electoral uncertainty raises sovereign default risk. |
| Keywords: | sovereign debt and default, inequality, redistribution, political economy |
| JEL: | F34 H63 E62 F41 D72 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cexwps:13&r=cdm |
| By: | Rozo, Sandra V. (World Bank); Quintana, Alejandra (Columbia University); Urbina, Maria José (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | How does easing the economic integration of forced migrants affect native voting behaviors in the Global South? This paper assesses how the regularization of half a million Venezuelan forced migrants affected the electoral choices of Colombian natives by comparing election results in municipalities with higher and lower take-up rates for a program that supports forced migrants. The findings show negligible impacts on native voting behavior. The study then conducted a survey experiment to investigate the lack of voter response. Even after receiving information about the program, Colombian voters showed no changes in voting intentions or prosocial views toward migrants. This suggests that their indifference did not stem from a lack of awareness about the program. In contrast, the electoral indifference of natives may be explained by the fact that the program did not change labor and crime outcomes for native Colombians, and most migrants remained in the informal sector despite benefiting from the program through improvements in labor conditions and better access to public services. |
| Keywords: | refugees, amnesties, electoral outcomes |
| JEL: | D72 F02 F22 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16171&r=cdm |
| By: | Stancanelli, Elena G. F. (Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Terrorist attacks have often been found to impact voting behaviours in the country of the attack. Here I study the impact of 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York on voting preferences in the UK, concluding that 9/11 impacted the voting intentions of the British, significantly increasing prospective votes for the Conservative party and reducing future votes for the Labour, the incumbent party at the time. Using daily survey data on voting intentions of a representative sample of several thousands of British people in the days before and after the 9/11 attack, taking a Regression Discontinuity Design and Event Study approach, reveals an immediate large increase by about 31% in intentions to vote for the Conservative party and a decline of 17% in prospective Labour votes at future elections. These findings are robust to several checks, with the effects being short-lived, and varying largely depending on previous voting decisions, as well as by gender, education and employment status. |
| Keywords: | conflict economics, voting behaviour, household economics |
| JEL: | D72 F52 D12 D1 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16120&r=cdm |
| By: | Benjamin Enke; Raymond Fisman; Luis Mota Freitas; Steven Sun |
| Abstract: | This paper provides field evidence on the link between morals and political behavior. We develop a theory-guided real-stakes measure of each U.S. district's values on the universalism-particularism continuum, which reflects the degree to which charitable giving decreases as a function of social distance. District universalism is strongly predictive of local Democratic vote shares, legislators' roll-call voting, and the moral content of Congressional speeches. These results hold in both across- and within-party analyses. Overall, spatial heterogeneity in universalism is a substantially stronger predictor of geographic variation in political outcomes than traditional economic variables such as income or education. |
| JEL: | D72 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31265&r=cdm |
| By: | Ying Chen (University of Nottingham Ningbo China); Tom Lane (University of Nottingham Ningbo China); Stuart McDonald (University of Nottingham Ningbo China) |
| Abstract: | We experimentally explore public good production levels, and the endogenous formation of network structures to facilitate output sharing, among agents with heterogeneous production costs or valuations. Results corroborate the key theoretical insights of Kinateder & Merlino (2017) characterizing how agents form core-periphery networks. However, subjects often produce more and form denser networks than predicted, which sometimes reduces efficiency. There is some tendency for behaviour to converge towards the theoretical equilibrium over repeated play. Our results help us understand the emergence of the ‘law of the few’ in realworld networks, and suggest it is driven by endogenous sorting of heterogeneous agents. |
| Keywords: | Local public goods; Network formation; Experiment; Heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcdx:2023-02&r=cdm |
| By: | Jonas Radbruch; Amelie Schiprowski |
| Abstract: | This paper provides empirical evidence on the aggregation of information in committees. We analyze unique data from the decision-making process of hiring committees within a large private company. In the hiring process, committee members first conduct independent one-to-one interviews and give individual recommendations before deliberating on a collective hiring decision. We find that committees’ final hiring decisions are systematically less aligned with the initial recommendations of women than with those of men, even though women and men are equally qualified and experienced. This disparity in influence is strongest when recommendations exhibit high disagreement and when a single woman deliberates with two men. The estimated distribution of influence reveals that almost all men are more influential than the median woman. We offer suggestive evidence that these findings have implications for the effectiveness of gender quotas. |
| Keywords: | Committee Decision-Making, Gender Differences, Hiring |
| JEL: | D71 J16 M51 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_430&r=cdm |
| By: | Devesh Rustagi (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | Does market exposure shape civic values and rules that constrain opportunistic behavior and foster generalized cooperation? I investigate this question using a natural experiment on market location from Ethiopia, where exchange is prone to cooperation problems from asymmetric information and absence of third-party enforcement. I find a strong negative effect of market distance on civic values and rule formation. These results arise because groups develop different kinds of exchange structures to alleviate cooperation problems from market failure. In groups further away from markets, individuals rely on eponymous exchange and reputation in dense social network, which fosters parochial cooperation. In contrast, in groups near markets, impersonal and ephemeral exchange with strangers creates a demand for civic values and rules, which together with community sanctioning fosters generalized cooperation. Distance from markets without asymmetric information has no effect on civic values and rules. |
| Keywords: | Markets; civic values; rules; cooperation; market failure; asymmetric information; Ethiopia |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcdx:2023-05&r=cdm |