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The Political Consequences of Franchise Extension: Evidence from the Second Reform Act

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  • Berlinski, Samuel
  • Dewan, Torun

Abstract

We use evidence from the Second Reform Act, introduced in the United Kingdom in 1867, to analyze the impact on electoral outcomes of extending the vote to the unskilled urban population. Exploiting the sharp change in the electorate caused by franchise extension, we separate the effect of reform from that of underlying constituency level traits correlated with the voting population. Although we find that the franchise affected electoral competition and candidate selection, there is no evidence relating Liberal electoral support to changes in the franchise rules. Our results are robust to various sources of endogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Berlinski, Samuel & Dewan, Torun, 2011. "The Political Consequences of Franchise Extension: Evidence from the Second Reform Act," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 6(3–4), pages 329-376, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:jlqjps:100.00011013
    DOI: 10.1561/100.00011013
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    Cited by:

    1. de Bromhead, Alan & Fernihough, Alan & Hargaden, Enda, 2020. "Representation of the People: Franchise Extension and the “Sinn Féin Election” in Ireland, 1918," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(3), pages 886-925, September.
    2. Jean Lacroix, 2023. "Ballots Instead of Bullets? The Effect of the Voting Rights Act on Political Violence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 764-813.
    3. Deter, Max & Lange, Martin, 2023. "Are the supporters of socialism the losers of capitalism? Conformism in East Germany and transition success," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Anca Turcu & R. Urbatsch, 2020. "Go Means Green: Diasporas’ Affinity for EcologicalGroups," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 82-102, February.
    5. Kammas, Pantelis & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2020. "Democratisation and tax structure in the presence of home production: Evidence from the Kingdom of Greece," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 219-236.
    6. Jonathan Chapman, 2020. "Extension of the Franchise and Government Expenditure on Public Goods: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century England," Working Papers 20200045, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Mar 2020.
    7. Degrave, Anne & Lopez-Peceno, Alejandro & Rozenas, Arturas, 2024. "Peasants into Citizens: Suffrage Expansion and Mass Politics in France," TSE Working Papers 24-1529, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    8. Aidt, T.S. & Jensen, P.S., 2012. "From Open to Secret Ballot: Vote Buying and Modernization," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1221, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    9. Jonathan Chapman, 2020. "Democracy, Redistribution, and Inequality: Evidence from the English Poor Law," Working Papers 20200050, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Jun 2020.
    10. Izaskun Zuazu, 2022. "Electoral systems and income inequality: a tale of political equality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 793-819, August.
    11. Andrea Marcucci & Dominic Rohner & Alessandro Saia, 2023. "Ballot or Bullet: The Impact of the UK’s Representation of the People Act on Peace and Prosperity," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(652), pages 1510-1536.
    12. Anaxagorou, Christiana & Efthyvoulou, Georgios & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2020. "Electoral motives and the subnational allocation of foreign aid in sub-Saharan Africa," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Valentino Larcinese, 2014. "Enfranchisement and Representation: Evidence from the Introduction of Quasi-Universal Suffrage in Italy," Working Papers 512, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    14. Valentino Larcinese, 2011. "Enfranchisement and Representation: Italy 1909-1913," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 032, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    15. Kainuma, Shuhei, 2024. "Transition to broader-based politics: The role of suffrage extension in early 20th century Japan," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    16. Edoardo Cefalà, 2022. "The political consequences of mass repatriation," Discussion Papers 2022-05, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    17. Dewan, Torun & Meriläinen, Jaakko & Tukiainen, Janne, 2018. "Victorian Voting: Party Orientation and Class Alignment Revisited," Working Papers 103, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    18. McDonald, Jared & Safarpour, Alauna & Hanmer, Michael J. & Bryant, Lisa A., 2024. "Evaluating Partisan Registrations Amid the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) Controversy," OSF Preprints 7wr8q, Center for Open Science.
    19. Georgios Efthyvoulou & Pantelis Kammas & Vassilis Sarantides, 2020. "Gender voting gap in the dawn of urbanization: evidence from a quasi-experiment with Greek special elections," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 146, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    20. Torun Dewan & Jaakko Meriläinen & Janne Tukiainen, 2020. "Victorian Voting: The Origins of Party Orientation and Class Alignment," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(4), pages 869-886, October.
    21. Verena Kroth & Valentino Larcinese & Joachim Wehner, 2016. "A Better Life for All? Democratization and Electrification in Post-Apartheid South Africa," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 60, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    22. Daron Acemoglu & Suresh Naidu & Pascual Restrepo & James A. Robinson, 2013. "Democracy, Redistribution and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 19746, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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