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Higher costs appeal to voters: implications of expressive voting

Author

Listed:
  • J. R. Clark

    (The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)

  • Dwight R. Lee

    (Southern Methodist University)

Abstract

The logic of expressive voting implies that some will find voting for a government policy more appealing the more costly it is. This result is consistent with public opinion polls and the trajectory of government spending. And it adds to the ability of rational voter ignorance and apathy to explain the latitude politicians have to ignore the cost they impose on taxpayers without losing votes. The appeal of higher costs to voters makes it easier for organized-interest groups to exploit the good intentions of voters by capturing private advantage and sabotaging the hopes upon which those good intentions are based. The appeal higher costs have for some voters also suggests another way bootleggers can benefit from the moral cover Baptists provide for their rent-seeking activities. We also point out that expressive voting implies that there is no reason for believing that the special-interest activity that sabotages the moral intentions of voters are in general any less moral than morally motivated voters.

Suggested Citation

  • J. R. Clark & Dwight R. Lee, 2016. "Higher costs appeal to voters: implications of expressive voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 37-45, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:167:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11127-016-0329-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-016-0329-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geoffrey Brennan, 2008. "Psychological dimensions in voter choice," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 475-489, December.
    2. Bryan Caplan, 2007. "Introduction to The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies," Introductory Chapters, in: The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, Princeton University Press.
    3. Dwight Lee & J. Clark, 2014. "Buchanan and Tullock ignore their own contributions to expressive voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 113-118, October.
    4. Dwight Lee, 2015. "The beast is not easily starved," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 275-285, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard J. Cebula & Christopher M. Duquette & Robert Boylan, 2017. "Panel Data Analysis of Regional Differentials in the Registered Voter Turnout Rate and the Expected Benefits of Voting for Minorities," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 45(1), pages 29-34, March.
    2. Brian Dollery & Michael A. Kortt, 2017. "Fast and Loose: An Evaluation of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Report Marriage Equality in Australia," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(1), pages 49-59, March.
    3. J. R. Clark & Dwight R. Lee, 2017. "Econ 101 Morality: The Amiable, the Mundane, and the Market," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 14(1), pages 1-61–76, January.
    4. Cebula, Richard J., 2019. "The Voter Turnout/Relative Unemployment Rate Hypothesis," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 72(3), pages 255-280.
    5. Jeremy Horpedahl, 2021. "Bootleggers, Baptists and ballots: coalitions in Arkansas’ alcohol-legalization elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 203-219, July.
    6. Michael David Thomas, 2019. "Reapplying behavioral symmetry: public choice and choice architecture," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 11-25, July.
    7. Maarten C. W. Janssen & Mariya Teteryatnikova, 2017. "Mystifying but not misleading: when does political ambiguity not confuse voters?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 501-524, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Expressive voting; Rational voter ignorance; Rational voter apathy; Baptists; Bootleggers; Rent seeking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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