| By: |
Markus Jokela (Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki.);
Jaakko Meriläinen (Centro de Investigación Económica and Department of Economics, ITAM.);
Janne Tukiainen (Department of Economics, University of Turku; VATT Institute for Economic Research.);
Åsa von Schoultz (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki.) |
| Abstract: |
We present the first comprehensive evidence on the role of cognitive ability
and personality traits in the selection of electoral candidates and election
of politicians. Using unique data that combine population registers and
election statistics from local government elections in Finland with tests of
cognitive and non-cognitive ability of men administered by the Finnish Defense
Forces, we document two main findings. First, political parties select
candidates who fare better than the office-eligible population in both
intelligence and personality tests that capture three dimensions of cognitive
and seven dimensions of non-cognitive ability. Second, elected politicians
possess more desirable traits than nonelected candidates. Our results show
that a voter-oriented open-list system is able to select competent, motivated,
and honest representatives. We also assess the relative importance of
cognitive abilities and personality traits, present evidence of no trade-offs
between politician quality and descriptive representation, and illustrate that
political competition may be an important contextual factor shaping selection. |
| Keywords: |
candidate entry, cognitive ability, election, open-list PR system, personality, political selection |
| JEL: |
D72 J24 |
| Date: |
2022–07 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tkk:dpaper:dp152&r= |