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Title: Economic inequality, political polarization and voter turnout

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2022

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Abstract: Rising economic inequality has often been associated to either increasing political polarization or decreasing voter turnout. In this paper, I provide a unified explanation for these associations, by accounting for the interconnection between polarization and turnout. By combining group-based ethical voting and spatial political competition, I propose a theoretical model in which both candidates' platforms and voter turnout are endogenous. I show that the direct effect of inequality on turnout is not straightforward. When candidates' polarization is initially low, rising inequality tends to decrease turnout, while the opposite is true for initially high polarization. Moreover, higher inequality also induces candidates to adapt their platforms, increasing polarization , which has an indirect effect on turnout. Finally, although inequality increases the voters' demand for redistribution, if polarization is too high, it may provide an advantage to the candidate who proposes less redistribution. Using data on the United States, I provide anecdotal evidence consistent with these theoretical predictions.

Url: http://docteco-parissaclay.fr/papers/ErikaPini.pdf

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Authors: Pini, Erika

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Other, Poverty and Welfare

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