Electoral Handouts as Information
Explaining Unmonitored Vote Buying
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6412136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Kramon (0000-0001-8299-4018, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 454-498 |
| Publication date | 2016-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-8871 • E-ISSN: 1086-3338 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0043887115000453 |
| OpenAlex | W2472865880 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 76 |
| References cited | 64 |
Why is vote buying effective even where ballot secrecy is protected? Most answers emerge from models of machine politics, in which a machine holds recipients of handouts accountable for their subsequent political behavior. Yet vote buying is common in many contexts where political party machines are not present, or where parties exert little effort in monitoring voters. This article addresses this puzzle. The author argues that politicians often distribute electoral handouts to convey information to voters. This vote buying conveys information with respect to the future provision of resources to the poor. The author tests the argument with original qualitative and experimental data collected in Kenya. A voter's information about a candidate's vote buying leads to substantial increases in electoral support, an effect driven by expectations about the provision of clientelist benefits beyond the electoral period. The results, showing that the distribution of material benefits can be electorally effective for persuasive reasons, thereby explain how vote buying can be effective in the absence of machine politics
Advertising · Argument (complex analysis · Ballot · Business · Clientelism · Democracy · Distribution (mathematics · Economics · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Secrecy · Secret ballot · Voting · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Society in Latin America · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
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| Unique citing works | 76 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 7,6 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 75 |