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Keep your Enemies Closer: Strategic Platform Adjustments during U.S. and French Elections

Author

Listed:
  • Rafael Di Tella
  • Randy Kotti
  • Caroline Le Pennec
  • Vincent Pons

Abstract

We study changes in political discourse during campaigns, using a novel dataset of candidate websites for U.S. House elections, 2002-2016, and manifestos for French parliamentary and local elections, 1958-2022. We find that candidates move to the center in ideology and rhetorical complexity between the first round (or primary) and the second round (or general election). This convergence reflects candidates’ strategic adjustment to their competitor, as predicted by the median voter theorem: Using an RDD, we show that candidates converge to the platform of opponents who narrowly qualified for the last round, as opposed to those who narrowly failed to qualify.

Suggested Citation

  • Rafael Di Tella & Randy Kotti & Caroline Le Pennec & Vincent Pons, 2023. "Keep your Enemies Closer: Strategic Platform Adjustments during U.S. and French Elections," NBER Working Papers 31503, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31503
    Note: POL
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    Cited by:

    1. Schönenberger, Felix, 2023. "Strategic Policy Responsiveness to Opponent Platforms: Evidence From U.S. House Incumbents Running Against Moderate or Extremist Challengers," MPRA Paper 120160, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Felix Kersting, 2023. "Mimicking the Opposition: Bismarck's Welfare State and the Rise of the Socialists," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 448, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    3. Schönenberger, Felix, 2024. "Out of Office, Out of Step? Re-election Concners and Ideological Shirking in Lame Duck Sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives," MPRA Paper 120159, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • P0 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - General

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