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Rockets and votes

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  • Elster, Yael

Abstract

Citizens in many countries are forced to make their political decisions under the threat of terrorism. This paper explores the effects of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on voting patterns in Israeli elections between 1999 and 2015. Relying on a micro-level dataset of claims for rocket-related property damages as a proxy for the severity of the rocket attacks, I find that an additional one thousand claims in a locality increases right-bloc parties’ vote-share by about 4 percentage points. Recent attacks, initial exposure and geographical proximity lead to stronger effects on voting behavior. The results are driven by actual exposure of the locality to rocket fire rather than by the mere threat of an attack.

Suggested Citation

  • Elster, Yael, 2019. "Rockets and votes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 767-784.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:166:y:2019:i:c:p:767-784
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Michael Gibilisco, 2023. "Mowing the grass," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 35(3), pages 204-231, July.
    4. Krzysztof Krakowski & Juan S. Morales & Dani Sandu, 2020. "Violence Against Politicians, Negative Campaigning, and Public Opinion: Evidence from Poland," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 624 JEL Classification: D, Collegio Carlo Alberto.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflict; Elections; Israel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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