Candidate Positioning and Voter Choice

Bibliographic Data

ID3375192
AuthorsMichael Tomz (0000-0002-0453-024X, Stanford University, corresponding author), Robert P Van Houweling (University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume102
Issue3
Pages303-318
Publication date2008-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055408080301
OpenAlexW2147805916
LanguageEN
Citations received106
References cited31

This article examines a fundamental aspect of democracy: the relationship between the policy positions of candidates and the choices of voters. Researchers have suggested three criteria-proximity, direction, and discounting-by which voters might judge candidates' policy positions. More than 50 peer-reviewed articles, employing data from more than 20 countries, have attempted to adjudicate among these theories. We explain why existing data and methods are insufficient to estimate the prevalence of these criteria in the electorate. We then formally derive an exhaustive set of critical tests: situations in which the criteria predict different vote choices. Finally, through survey experiments concerning health care policy, we administer the tests to a nationally representative sample. We find that proximity voting is about twice as common as discounting and four times as common as directional voting. Furthermore, discounting is most prevalent among ideological centrists and nonpartisans, who make sophisticated judgments that help align policy with their preferences. These findings demonstrate the promise of combining formal theory and experiments to answer previously intractable questions about democracy

Adjudication · Democracy · Discounting · Econometrics · Economics · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sample (material · Set (abstract data type · Voting · Computer Science · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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