|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Context-dependent Voting
Author(s): Steven Callander;Catherine H. Wilson
Source:
Journal:Quarterly Journal of Political Science
ISSN Print:1554-0626, ISSN Online:1554-0634
Publisher:Now Publishers
Volume 1 Number 3,
Document Type: Article
Pages: 28 (227-254)
DOI: 10.1561/100.00000007
Abstract: In recent decades psychologists have shown that the
standard model of individual choice is often violated as choices
are influenced by the decision context. We propose that voting
behavior may be similarly influenced and we introduce a theory of
context-dependent voting. Context-dependence implies that
preferences over any pair of alternatives may depend not just on
the two options but on the entire choice set. With an analysis of
data gathered during the 1996 U.S. congressional election we
confirm the presence of a significant context-dependent effect on
voting behavior. In addition, we demonstrate that, when applied to
a simple, standard model of electoral competition,
context-dependent voting yields an equilibrium in which only two
candidates compete and adopt divergent policy platforms, thereby
deterring additional entry. The equilibrium is simultaneously
consistent with policy divergence and the stability of two-party
political systems that underlies Duverger's Law.
|
|
|
|