Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/82508 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2011:10
Publisher: 
Uppsala University, Department of Economics, Uppsala
Abstract: 
Using unique survey data that allows us to observe both voters' and politicians' preferences for local public spending as well as voting decisions, this paper tests if voters typically support parties in which the politicians' preferences are closest to their own. Doing so would be rational for the voters to do if politicians' preferences matter for policy outcomes, as is the case in e.g. the citizen-candidate model. It is found that this is indeed the case. This finding is in line with theoretical models such as the citizen-candidate model arguing that politicians cannot credibly commit to election platforms that differ from their true policy preferences.
Subjects: 
elections
voting
preferences for public services
JEL: 
H71
P16
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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