PEPP Seminar: Pocketbook Voting, Social Preferences, and Expressive Motives in Referenda (August 28)
2017/08/23
Title: Pocketbook Voting, Social Preferences, and Expressive Motives in Referenda
Presenter: Dr. Panu Poutvaara (Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research, ifo Institute, Germany)
Date: Monday, August 28, 2017
Time: 15:45-17:15
Venue: 3K Building, Room 311 (Central Area)
Coordinator: Prof. Hisahiro Naito
Abstract: We develop and test a theory of voting and turnout decisions that integrates self-interest, social preferences, and expressive motives. Our empirical analysis studies collective choices which are analogous to decisions on local public goods. We consider referenda among university students on whether to collectively purchase deeply discounted flat rate tickets for public transportation and cultural amenities. Individual usage data allow quantifying the monetary benefits associated with each ticket. As voters had precise information on the individual costs and benefits, our setting comprises a real-world laboratory of direct democracy. This allows, for the first time, to empirically decompose voter motivations in referenda at the individual level. We find that monetary benefits strongly influence participation and voting. However, social or expressive motives, such as stated altruism, environmental concerns, and paternalism, are decisive for a significant minority. Based on our theory, these results rule out purely expressive voting and imply that a substantial share of the electorate perceived their impact on the outcome to be non-negligible.
