All (electoral) politics is local? Candidate's regional roots and vote choice

Philipp Harfst, Damien Bol, André Blais, Sona Golder, Jean-François Laslier, Laura Stephenson and Karine van der Straeten
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Philipp Harfst: CBL - Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land-use [University of Göttingen] - Georg-August-University of Göttingen = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Damien Bol: King‘s College London
André Blais: UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal
Sona Golder: Penn State - Pennsylvania State University - Penn State System
Laura Stephenson: UWO - University of Western Ontario
Karine van der Straeten: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse

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Abstract: Many authors argue that candidates are more popular among voters from their own region. Two potential explanations have been suggested: voters' identification with their home region, and the representation of regional interests. The information on candidates' residence can be transmitted to voters in different ways, the most easily accessible way being information printed on the ballot paper. However, most studies on "friends and neighbour voting" use aggregate data. Studies that rely on individual level data usually put respondents in hypothetical situations and confront them with synthetic candidates, reducing their realism. To bridge this gap and to test the effect of providing information on the candidates' residence, we use data from a survey experiment to analyze voters' responses to ballot paper information on the regional background of real candidates in the 2014 European election in Germany. We find that voters in an open list PR election are more likely to support regional candidates if ballot paper information on the candidates' geographic background helps them to do so. The appeal of personal ties is a stronger explanation for vote preference than the one based on regional interests.

Date: 2024
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Published in Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 2024, 34 (3), ⟨10.1080/17457289.2023.2189257⟩

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Working Paper: All (electoral) politics is local? Candidate's regional roots and vote choice (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04155242

DOI: 10.1080/17457289.2023.2189257

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