IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jculte/v47y2023i2d10.1007_s10824-022-09456-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Eurovision Song Contest: voting rules, biases and rationality

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Ginsburgh

    (ECARES, Université libre de Bruxelles and CORE, Université catholique de Louvain)

  • Juan D. Moreno-Ternero

    (Universidad Pablo de Olavide)

Abstract

We analyze and evaluate the rules and results at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. We first concentrate on the various voting procedures and explore several alternatives (inspired by classical contributions in social choice and game theory) that could make a difference for the results. We also discuss other important issues, such as simplicity, contrast effects and whether experts are better judges than tele-voters. Our findings raise the question of whether the voting procedures used by the Eurovision Song Contest authorities are fail-safe. We endorse instead the use of the so-called Shapley voting procedure for judges as well as tele-voters.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Ginsburgh & Juan D. Moreno-Ternero, 2023. "The Eurovision Song Contest: voting rules, biases and rationality," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(2), pages 247-277, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:47:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10824-022-09456-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-022-09456-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10824-022-09456-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10824-022-09456-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pierre Dehez & Victor Ginsburgh, 2020. "Approval voting and Shapley ranking," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 415-428, September.
    2. Kocher, Martin G. & Sutter, Matthias, 2006. "Time is money--Time pressure, incentives, and the quality of decision-making," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 375-392, November.
    3. Gary Charness & David Masclet & Marie Claire Villeval, 2014. "The Dark Side of Competition for Status," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(1), pages 38-55, January.
    4. Ginsburgh, Victor & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. & Weber, Shlomo, 2017. "Ranking languages in the European Union: Before and after Brexit," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 139-151.
    5. Victor A. Ginsburgh & Jan C. van Ours, 2003. "Expert Opinion and Compensation: Evidence from a Musical Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 289-296, March.
    6. Felbermayr, Gabriel J. & Toubal, Farid, 2010. "Cultural proximity and trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 279-293, February.
    7. Ginsburgh, Victor & Zang, Israel, 2003. "The museum pass game and its value," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 322-325, May.
    8. Ginsburgh, Victor & Noury, Abdul G., 2008. "The Eurovision Song Contest. Is voting political or cultural?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 41-52, March.
    9. Marco Haan & S. Dijkstra & Peter Dijkstra, 2005. "Expert Judgment Versus Public Opinion – Evidence from the Eurovision Song Contest," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 29(1), pages 59-78, February.
    10. Alcalde-Unzu, Jorge & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. & Weber, Shlomo, 2022. "The measurement of the value of a language," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Ginsburgh, Victor & Zang, Israël, 2012. "Shapley Ranking of Wines," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 169-180, November.
    12. Gary Charness & David Masclet & Marie Claire Villeval, 2014. "The Dark Side of Competition for Status (preprint)," Working Papers halshs-01090241, HAL.
    13. Bergantiños, Gustavo & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D., 2015. "The axiomatic approach to the problem of sharing the revenue from museum passes," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 78-92.
    14. Kelman, Mark & Rottenstreich, Yuval & Tversky, Amos, 1996. "Context-Dependence in Legal Decision Making," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 287-318, June.
    15. Ginsburgh, Victor & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. & Weber, Shlomo, 2017. "Ranking languages in the European Union: Before and after Brexit," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 139-151.
    16. Ernst Fehr & Antonio Rangel, 2011. "Neuroeconomic Foundations of Economic Choice--Recent Advances," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 3-30, Fall.
    17. repec:cup:judgdm:v:5:y:2010:i:6:p:437-449 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Gergaud, Olivier & Ginsburgh, Victor & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D., 2021. "Wine Ratings: Seeking a Consensus among Tasters via Normalization, Approval, and Aggregation," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 321-342, August.
    19. Levin, Irwin P. & Schneider, Sandra L. & Gaeth, Gary J., 1998. "All Frames Are Not Created Equal: A Typology and Critical Analysis of Framing Effects," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 149-188, November.
    20. Oliver Budzinski & Julia Pannicke, 2017. "Culturally biased voting in the Eurovision Song Contest: Do national contests differ?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(4), pages 343-378, November.
    21. Victor Ginsburgh, 2003. "Awards, Success and Aesthetic Quality in the Arts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 99-111, Spring.
    22. Samuel M. Hartzmark & Kelly Shue, 2018. "A Tough Act to Follow: Contrast Effects in Financial Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1567-1613, August.
    23. Victor Ginsburgh & Renato Flores Galvao, 1996. "The Queen Elisabeth Musical Competition: how fair is the final ranking," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/1713, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    24. Derek Gatherer, 2006. "Comparison of Eurovision Song Contest Simulation with Actual Results Reveals Shifting Patterns of Collusive Voting Alliances," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 9(2), pages 1-1.
    25. Lynch, John G, Jr & Chakravarti, Dipankar & Mitra, Anusree, 1991. "Contrast Effects in Consumer Judgments: Changes in Mental Representations or in the Anchoring of Rating Scales?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(3), pages 284-297, December.
    26. Balbina Casas-Mendez & Vito Fragnelli & Ignacio Garcìa-Jurado, 2014. "A survey of allocation rules for the museum pass problem," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(2), pages 191-205, May.
    27. Amos Tversky & Itamar Simonson, 1993. "Context-Dependent Preferences," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(10), pages 1179-1189, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bergantiños, Gustavo & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D., 2020. "Broadcasting La Liga," MPRA Paper 104750, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Budzinski, Oliver & Gänßle, Sophia & Weimar, Daniel, 2023. "Disentangling individual biases in jury voting: An empirical analysis of voting behavior in the Eurovision Song Contest," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 171, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gergaud, Olivier & Ginsburgh, Victor & Moreno-Ternero, Juan D., 2021. "Wine Ratings: Seeking a Consensus among Tasters via Normalization, Approval, and Aggregation," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 321-342, August.
    2. Budzinski, Oliver & Gänßle, Sophia & Weimar, Daniel, 2023. "Disentangling individual biases in jury voting: An empirical analysis of voting behavior in the Eurovision Song Contest," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 171, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    3. Budzinski, Oliver & Kohlschreiber, Marie & Kuchinke, Björn & Pannicke, Julia, 2019. "Does music quality matter for audience voters in a music contest?," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 122, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    4. Olivier Gergaud & Victor Ginsburgh & Juan D. Moreno-Ternero, 2020. "Wine Ratings," Working Papers ECARES 2020-38, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Algaba, Encarnación & Béal, Sylvain & Fragnelli, Vito & Llorca, Natividad & Sánchez-Soriano, Joaquin, 2019. "Relationship between labeled network games and other cooperative games arising from attributes situations," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    6. GINSBURGH, Victor & NOURY, Abdul, 2005. "Cultural voting : The Eurovision Song Contest," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2005006, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    7. Aloys Prinz, 2017. "Rankings as coordination games: the Dutch Top 2000 pop song ranking," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(4), pages 379-401, November.
    8. Felbermayr, Gabriel J. & Toubal, Farid, 2010. "Cultural proximity and trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 279-293, February.
    9. Victor Ginsburgh, 2016. "On Judging Art and Wine," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2016-21, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Oliver Budzinski & Julia Pannicke, 2017. "Culturally biased voting in the Eurovision Song Contest: Do national contests differ?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(4), pages 343-378, November.
    11. Ricardo Martínez & Joaquín Sánchez-Soriano, 2021. "Social solidarity with dummies in the museum pass problem," ThE Papers 21/11, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    12. Alexander V. Mantzaris & Samuel R. Rein & Alexander D. Hopkins, 2018. "Preference and neglect amongst countries in the Eurovision Song Contest," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 377-390, September.
    13. Ginsburgh, Victor & Noury, Abdul G., 2008. "The Eurovision Song Contest. Is voting political or cultural?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 41-52, March.
    14. Asmat, Roberto & Borowiecki, Karol J. & Law, Marc T., 2023. "Do experts and laypersons differ? Some evidence from international classical music competitions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 270-290.
    15. Pannicke, Julia, 2015. "Abstimmungsverhalten im Bundesvision Song Contest: Regionale Nähe versus Qualität der Musik," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 95, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    16. Ricardo Mart'inez & Joaqu'in S'anchez-Soriano, 2023. "Order preservation with dummies in the musseum pass problem," Papers 2307.00622, arXiv.org.
    17. Krzysztof Kontek & Honorata Sosnowska, 2020. "Specific Tastes or Cliques of Jurors? How to Reduce the Level of Manipulation in Group Decisions?," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 29(6), pages 1057-1084, December.
    18. Martina Dattilo & Fabio Padovano & Yvon Rocaboy, 2023. "More is worse: the evolution of quality of the UNESCO World Heritage List and its determinants," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(1), pages 71-96, March.
    19. V. Ginsburgh & Sheila Weyers, 2014. "Nominees, winners, and losers," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(4), pages 291-313, November.
    20. Sofronis Clerides & Thanasis Stengos, 2012. "Love thy Neighbour, Love Thy Kin: Strategy and Bias in the Eurovision Song Contest," Ekonomia, Cyprus Economic Society and University of Cyprus, vol. 15(1), pages 22-44, Summer.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Eurovision song contest; Voting; Borda; Shapley method; Biases;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:47:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10824-022-09456-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.