The Library
Activism, costly participation, and polarization
Tools
Venkatesh, Raghul S. (2017) Activism, costly participation, and polarization. Discussion Paper. Coventry: University of Warwick. Department of Economics. CRETA Discussion Paper Series (30). (Unpublished)
|
PDF
WRAP-30-creta-venkatesh-2017.pdf - Other - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (1093Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
I develop a model of activism and polarization in the context of electoral competition. Two candidates simultaneously announce policy platforms and seek the support of ideologically inclined activists. Activists compete to influence electoral outcomes by expending costly support for their respective candidates. The presence of activists always moderates the platform choice of candidates, compared to the case of no activism. The main finding is to provide conditions under which as activists’ ideological partisanship increases (decreases), polarization of candidate platforms reduces (widens) - meaning candidates may compromise even though their supporters become more extreme. I precisely characterize the conditions under which the presence of activism and increasing partisanship among activists are both welfare-improving for voters. Finally, I identify a novel crowding out effect of big money on the demand for activism. My analysis suggests public funding of elections as an important institutional reform that could mitigate the pernicious effects of high polarization.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Discussion Paper) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Political activists, Campaign funds, Elections | ||||
Series Name: | CRETA Discussion Paper Series | ||||
Publisher: | University of Warwick. Department of Economics | ||||
Place of Publication: | Coventry | ||||
Official Date: | May 2017 | ||||
Dates: |
|
||||
Number: | 30 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 34 | ||||
Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 5 January 2017 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 6 January 2017 | ||||
Related URLs: |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year