Corrupt Voting: Information and Electoral Accountability

Federico Weinschelbaum, David K. Levine () and Felipe Zurita ()

Department of Economics Working Papers from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella

Abstract: Does the ability of the electorate to replace corrupt politicians deter corruption? This paper analyzes the limitations of electoral accountability. We show that if the electorate cannot commit elections offer no defense against corruption. However, when a commitment technology exists, the electorate can strategically choose to remove only those caught taking bribes. This incentivizes corrupt politicians to pass up bribe opportunities for which the value is small. We then examine how improved monitoring can impact outcomes and show that increasing information quality does not always benefit the electorate.

Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2025-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-mic and nep-pol
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:udt:wpecon:2025_08

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