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Classical Right, New Right, and Voting Behavior:Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde

    (University of Pennsylvania, NBER, and CEPR)

  • Carlos Sanz

    (Banco de Espana and CEMFI)

Abstract

Due to a last-minute fight among the candidates, Vox, a party at the right end of the Spanish political spectrum, could not run in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a relatively representative electoral constituency, in the general election of July 23, 2023. Since this fight was a power struggle within Vox unrelated to any fundamental in the constituency or ideological differences among the candidates, we can exploit this event as a quasinatural experiment to measure the effects of new parties on electoral outcomes. Using three different but complementary research designs (matching, synthetic controls, and a triple-difference analysis), we get to the same main result: Vox’s presence significantly increases votes for the right as a whole. The increase in votes for the right caused by Vox’s presence is particularly strong in areas with high unemployment. The presence of Vox also reduces protest votes but, on the other hand, votes for the left are unaffected.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde & Carlos Sanz, 2024. "Classical Right, New Right, and Voting Behavior:Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," PIER Working Paper Archive 24-014, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:24-014
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    New parties; quasi-natural experiments; electoral outcomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N40 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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