The Effect of Information on Voter Turnout: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

David Lassen

American Journal of Political Science, 2005, vol. 49, issue 1, 103-118

Abstract: Do better‐informed people vote more? Recent formal theories of voter turnout emphasize a positive effect of being informed on the propensity to vote, but the possibility of endogenous information acquisition makes estimation of causal effects difficult. I estimate the causal effects of being informed on voter turnout using unique data from a natural experiment Copenhagen referendum on decentralization. Four of fifteen districts carried out a pilot project, exogenously making pilot city district voters more informed about the effects of decentralization. Empirical estimates based on survey data confirm a sizeable and statistically significant causal effect of being informed on the propensity to vote.

Date: 2005
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (115)

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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2005.00113.x

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Working Paper: The Effect of Information on Voter Turnout: Evidence from a Natural Experiment (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:amposc:v:49:y:2005:i:1:p:103-118

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