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The Grass Is Not Greener on the Other Side: The Role of Attention in Voting Behaviour

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  • Lucie Coufalová

    (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Štěpán Mikula

    (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)

Abstract

The effect of ranking and the effect of attention both increase the chances that candidates running in the top positions of electoral lists will win voters’ support. We exploit a variation in ballot layout (the location of the break between the first and second sides of the ballot) in the 2006–2017 Czech parliamentary elections to disentangle these effects and identify the effect of attention. We show that being listed on the reverse side of the ballot paper decreases electoral support by at least 50 %.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucie Coufalová & Štěpán Mikula, 2022. "The Grass Is Not Greener on the Other Side: The Role of Attention in Voting Behaviour," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2022-08, Masaryk University, revised Feb 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:mub:wpaper:2022-08
    DOI: 10.5817/WP_MUNI_ECON_2022-08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Galasso, Vincenzo & Nannicini, Tommaso, 2015. "So closed: Political selection in proportional systems," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 260-273.
    2. Ho, Daniel E. & Imai, Kosuke, 2006. "Randomization Inference With Natural Experiments: An Analysis of Ballot Effects in the 2003 California Recall Election," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 101, pages 888-900, September.
    3. Štěpán Jurajda & Daniel Münich, 2015. "Candidate ballot information and election outcomes: the Czech case," Post-Soviet Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 448-469, September.
    4. Ned Augenblick & Scott Nicholson, 2016. "Ballot Position, Choice Fatigue, and Voter Behaviour," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(2), pages 460-480.
    5. Geys, Benny & Heyndels, Bruno, 2003. "Ballot Layout Effects in the 1995 Elections of the Brussels' Government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 116(1-2), pages 147-164, July.
    6. Klara Svitakova & Michal Soltes, 2020. "Sorting of Candidates: Evidence from 20,000 Electoral Ballots," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp652, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    7. Peter Buisseret & Carlo Prato, 2020. "Voting behavior under proportional representation," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 32(1), pages 96-111, January.
    8. John G. Matsusaka, 2016. "Ballot order effects in direct democracy elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 257-276, June.
    9. Jarosław Flis & Marek M. Kaminski, 2022. "Party-related primacy effects in proportional representation systems: evidence from a natural experiment in Polish local elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 345-363, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lukas Linek & Michael Skvrnak & Michal Soltes & Vitezslav Titl, 2024. "Czech Political Candidate and Donation Datasets," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp790, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    2. Lucie Coufalová & Štěpán Mikula & Michal Ševčík, 2023. "Homophily in voting behavior: Evidence from preferential voting," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 281-300, May.
    3. Däubler, Thomas & Linek, Lukáš, 2024. "Party selectors, voters, and the choice of productive representatives under different types of list proportional representation," MPRA Paper 122594, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    voting behavior; attention; preferential voting; Czech parliamentary elections;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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