Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change Your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France

Vincent Pons

American Economic Review, 2018, vol. 108, issue 6, 1322-63

Abstract: This paper provides the first estimate of the effect of door-to-door canvassing on actual electoral outcomes, via a countrywide experiment embedded in Francois Hollande's campaign in the 2012 French presidential election. While existing experiments randomized door-to-door visits at the individual level, the scale of this campaign (five million doors knocked) enabled randomization by precinct, the level at which vote shares are recorded administratively. Visits did not affect turnout, but increased Hollande's vote share in the first round and accounted for one-fourth of his victory margin in the second. Visits' impact persisted in later elections, suggesting a lasting persuasion effect.

JEL-codes: C93 D12 D70 D72 D83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20160524
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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