Condemning corruption while condoning inefficiency: an experimental investigation into voting behavior | Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik - MPISOC
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Condemning corruption while condoning inefficiency: an experimental investigation into voting behavior

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This article reports results from an economic experiment that investigates the extent to which voters punish corruption and waste in elections. While both are responsible for reductions in voters’ welfare, they are not necessarily perceived as equally immoral. The empirical literature in political agency has not yet dealt with these two dimensions of voters’ choice calculus. Our results suggest that morality and norms are indeed crucial for a superior voting equilibrium in systems with heterogeneous politicians: while corruption always is punished, self-interest alone—in the absence of norms—leads to the acceptance and perpetuation of waste and social losses.

Publication Details
Mittlaender-Sergio-3

Sergio Rubens Mittlaender Leme de Souza

2017
10.1007/s11127-017-0452-x
S. 20
Springer
172
Public Choice
online first