Patronage and ideology in electoral behavior: Evidence from Egypt's first presidential elections

Mohamad Al-Ississ and Samer Atallah ()

European Journal of Political Economy, 2015, vol. 37, issue C, 241-248

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of patronage and ideology on voter behavior and election outcomes. Egypt's first free presidential elections represent a good case study to answer the question whether private gain outweighs ideology in voter behavior on a broader level. First, we combine election results with household surveys and national statistics to estimate the impact of patronage (measured by public employment) on voting for the pre-revolution regime candidate. Second, using results of the first round of elections as a proxy for ideology, we test for the effect of ideological preferences on voting behavior. Additionally, we test for candidates' ability to mobilize supporters. Our results suggest that patronage has a stronger effect than secularist ideology but a weaker effect than pro-change ideology. Results show that the number of public sector and government employees in each electoral district has a positive impact on participation rates.

Keywords: Egypt; Voting; Patronage; Ideology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 P26 P48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:poleco:v:37:y:2015:i:c:p:241-248

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2014.10.002

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