DECEPTION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: THEORY AND LABORATORY EVIDENCE |
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| Authors: | Daniel Houser Sandra Ludwig Thomas Stratmann |
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| Institution: | 1. 703‐993‐4856703‐993‐4851;2. Professor, Department of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA;3. +49‐731‐5023549+49‐731‐5023737;4. Professor, Department of Economics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany;5. 703‐993‐4920 |
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| Abstract: | We model two‐candidate elections in which (1) voters are uncertain about candidates' attributes; and (2) candidates can inform voters of their attributes by sending advertisements. We compare between political campaigns with truthful advertising and campaigns in which there is a small chance of deceptive advertising. Our model predicts that voters should vote in‐line with an advertisement's information. We test our model's predictions using laboratory elections. We find, in the presence of even a small probability that an advertisement is deceptive, voters become substantially more likely to elect a “low‐quality” candidate. We discuss implications of this for existing models of voting decisions. (JEL C92, D72, D82) |
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