eprintid: 48
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 28
dir: disk0/00/00/00/48
datestamp: 2011-02-10 16:01:59
lastmod: 2011-07-11 13:20:51
status_changed: 2011-02-10 16:01:59
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
item_issues_count: 0
creators_name: Sobbrio, Francesco
creators_name: Navarra, Pietro
creators_id: f.sobbrio@imtlucca.it
creators_id: 
title: Electoral participation and communicative voting in Europe
ispublished: pub
subjects: HB
divisions: EIC
full_text_status: none
keywords: Electoral turnout; Swing voter's curse; Communicative voting; Strategic voting; Multi-level qualitative choices
note: JEL classification codes: D72; C25
abstract:  This paper provides an empirical investigation of electoral participation and communicative voting in 14 European countries. We estimate a multi-level voting process where individuals face a participation decision (whether to vote or abstain) and a voting decision (whether to vote strategically for a likely winner party or as communicating for a sure loser party). Our main findings can be summarized as follows. First, individuals who are either independent or uninformed are less likely to turnout. However, being both independent and uninformed does not have any statistically significant effect on electoral participation. Thus, our results question the empirical relevance of the swing voter's curse theory in large elections. Second, the probability of voting as communicating is positively related with the level of education and the degree of dissatisfaction with the political system. Finally, political preferences and institutional features characterizing the functioning of the political system and of the media market have a significant effect both on electoral participation and on the voting decision.
date: 2010
publication: European Journal of Political Economy
volume: 26
number: 2
publisher: Elsevier
pagerange: 185 - 207
id_number: doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2010.01.002
refereed: TRUE
issn: 0176-2680
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2010.01.002
citation:   Sobbrio, Francesco and Navarra, Pietro  Electoral participation and communicative voting in Europe.  European Journal of Political Economy, 26 (2).  185 - 207.  ISSN 0176-2680      (2010)