E-lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet

Oliver Falck, Robert Gold and Stephan Heblich

American Economic Review, 2014, vol. 104, issue 7, 2238-65

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects on voting behavior of information disseminated over the Internet. We address endogeneity in Internet availability by exploiting regional and technological peculiarities of the preexisting voice telephony network that hindered the roll-out of fixed-line infrastructure for high-speed Internet. We find negative effects of Internet availability on voter turnout, which we relate to a crowding-out of TV consumption and increased entertainment consumption. We find no evidence that the Internet systematically benefits specific parties, suggesting ideological self-segregation in online information consumption. Robustness tests, including placebo estimations from the pre-Internet period, support a causal interpretation of our results.

JEL-codes: D12 D72 L82 L86 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.7.2238
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (218)

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Related works:
Working Paper: E-lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet (2014)
Working Paper: E-Lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet (2012)
Working Paper: E-Lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet (2012)
Working Paper: E-Lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet (2012)
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