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Strategic vote trading in power-sharing systems

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  • Dimitrios Xefteris
  • Nicholas Ziros

Abstract

This paper studies decentralized vote trading in a power-sharing system that follows the rules of strategic market games. In particular, we study a two-party election, in which prior to the voting stage voters are free to trade votes for money. Voters hold private information about both their ordinal and cardinal preferences, whereas their utilities are proportionally increasing in the vote share of their favorite party. In this framework we prove generic existence of a unique full trade equilibrium (an equilibrium in which nobody refrains from vote trading). We moreover argue that vote trading in such systems unambiguously improves voters' welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitrios Xefteris & Nicholas Ziros, 2016. "Strategic vote trading in power-sharing systems," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 01-2016, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:01-2016
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    Cited by:

    1. à ron Tóth & Javier Rivas & Enriqueta Aragonès, 2019. "Voter Heterogeneity and Political Corruption," Working Papers 1121, Barcelona School of Economics.
    2. Dimitrios Xefteris & Nicholas Ziros, 2024. "The “invisible hand” of vote markets," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 62(1), pages 153-165, February.
    3. Xefteris, Dimitrios & Ziros, Nicholas, 2018. "Strategic vote trading under complete information," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 52-58.
    4. Nikolas Tsakas & Dimitrios Xefteris & Nicholas Ziros, 2021. "Vote Trading in Power-Sharing Systems: A Laboratory Investigation," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(636), pages 1849-1882.
    5. Aragonès, Enriqueta & Rivas, Javier & Tóth, Áron, 2020. "Voter heterogeneity and political corruption," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 206-221.
    6. Toraubally, Waseem A., 2019. "Arbitrage equilibria in large games with many commodities," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 24-28.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    vote trading; strategic market games; power sharing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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