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Enfranchising non-citizens: What drives natives’ willingness to share power?

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  • Koukal, Anna Maria
  • Schafer, Patricia
  • Eichenberger, Reiner

Abstract

Universal suffrage is a core element of democracy. However, in many democratic countries, a large part of the inhabitants are foreigners without suffrage. We analyze the conditions under which domestic citizens are willing to extend suffrage to non-citizen residents. This paper explores a new panel dataset (1992–2016) of Swiss referenda on the enfranchisement of non-citizens. We concentrate on the size and composition of the foreign population and the institutional context as determinants of non-citizens’ enfranchisement. Our estimates show that a higher share of foreigners corresponds to a lower willingness of natives to enfranchise non-citizens. This effect seems to be driven by the cost of enfranchising non-citizens, which increases in the cultural distance between the foreign and native population and the strength of direct democracy.

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  • Koukal, Anna Maria & Schafer, Patricia & Eichenberger, Reiner, 2021. "Enfranchising non-citizens: What drives natives’ willingness to share power?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 1088-1108.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:49:y:2021:i:4:p:1088-1108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2021.03.001
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    2. Iñigo Iturbe-Ormaetxe & Santiago Sanchez-Pages & Angel Solano-Garcia, 2021. "The redistributive effects of enfranchising non-citizens. Evidence from Sweden," ThE Papers 21/10, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    3. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo & Tedeschi, Gian Luca, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," IZA Discussion Papers 15042, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Graziella Bertocchi & Angelo Dimico & Gian Luca Tedeschi, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," Department of Economics 0200, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    5. Gonnot, Jérôme, 2022. "Taxation with representation: Understanding natives’ attitudes to foreigners’ voting rights," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Koukal, Anna Maria & Schafer, Patricia & Eichenberger, Reiner, 2024. "Empowering the next generation: The role of direct democracy in youth enfranchisement," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Non-citizens’ voting rights; Cultural distance; Direct democracy; Power sharing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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