Policy Feedback and Civic Engagement: Evidence from the Finnish Basic Income Experiment

Salomo Hirvonen, Jerome Schafer and Janne Tukiainen
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Salomo Hirvonen: Department of Economics, University of Turku.
Jerome Schafer: Department of Political Science, LMU Munich.

No 155, Discussion Papers from Aboa Centre for Economics

Abstract: In many democracies, unemployed and low-income citizens are less willing to vote. Can social policies weaken the link between income and turnout? We study policy feedback leveraging a unique experiment in Finland, which randomly assigned a sizable group of unemployed to receiving an unconditional basic income for two years (2017-19). Combining individual-level registry and survey data, we show that the intervention has large positive effects on actual voter turnout and subjective levels of political efficacy. Basic income increases turnout in municipal elections by about 3 p.p., on average, an effect that is concentrated among marginal voters (+ 6-8 p.p.) and persists in national elections after the end of the experiment. Exploring possible mechanisms, our analysis highlights the role of interpretive effects, which boost political efficacy through various channels including trust in government. We discuss implications for theories of voter turnout and policy feedback, and the design of basic income policies.

Keywords: Basic income; Field experiment; Turnout (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D72 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 74
Date: 2022-11
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