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Bound by Borders: Voter Mobilization through Social Networks

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  • Gary W. Cox
  • Jon H. Fiva
  • Max-Emil M. King

Abstract

A vast and growing quantitative literature considers how social networks shape political mobilization but the degree to which turnout decisions are strategic remains ambiguous. Unlike previous studies, we establish personal links between voters and candidates and exploit discontinuous incentives to mobilize across district boundaries to estimate causal effects. Considering three types of network—families, co-workers, and immigrant communities—we show that a group member’s candidacy acts as a mobilizational impulse that propagates through the group’s network. In family networks, some of this impulse is non-strategic, surviving past district boundaries. However, the bulk of family mobilization is bound by the candidate’s district boundary, as is the entirety of the mobilizational effects in the other networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Gary W. Cox & Jon H. Fiva & Max-Emil M. King, 2023. "Bound by Borders: Voter Mobilization through Social Networks," CESifo Working Paper Series 10718, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10718
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    Cited by:

    1. Camille Urvoy, 2024. "Organized Voters: Elections and Public Funding of Nonprofits," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_601, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political participation; social networks; electoral geography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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