Economics and Ideology: Causal Evidence of the Impact of Economic Conditions on Support for Redistribution and Other Ballot Proposals /
Brunner, Eric J.
Economics and Ideology: Causal Evidence of the Impact of Economic Conditions on Support for Redistribution and Other Ballot Proposals / Eric J. Brunner, Stephen L. Ross, Ebonya L. Washington. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2008. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w14091 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w14091. .
June 2008.
Using California ballot proposition returns and exogenous shifts to labor demand, we provide the first large-scale causal evidence of the impact of economic conditions on policy preferences. Consistent with economic theory, we find that positive economic shocks decrease support for redistributive policies. More notably, we find evidence of a need for cognitive consistency in voting behavior as economic shocks have a smaller significant impact on voting on non-economic ballot issues. While we also demonstrate that positive shocks decrease turnout, we present evidence that our results reflect changes to the electorate's preferences and not simply to its composition.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Economics and Ideology: Causal Evidence of the Impact of Economic Conditions on Support for Redistribution and Other Ballot Proposals / Eric J. Brunner, Stephen L. Ross, Ebonya L. Washington. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2008. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w14091 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w14091. .
June 2008.
Using California ballot proposition returns and exogenous shifts to labor demand, we provide the first large-scale causal evidence of the impact of economic conditions on policy preferences. Consistent with economic theory, we find that positive economic shocks decrease support for redistributive policies. More notably, we find evidence of a need for cognitive consistency in voting behavior as economic shocks have a smaller significant impact on voting on non-economic ballot issues. While we also demonstrate that positive shocks decrease turnout, we present evidence that our results reflect changes to the electorate's preferences and not simply to its composition.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.