Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/298437 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion paper No. 155
Version Description: 
Revised: May 2023 (previous version November 2022)
Publisher: 
Aboa Centre for Economics (ACE), Turku
Abstract: 
In many democracies, unemployed and low-income citizens are less willing to vote. Can unconditional cash transfers weaken the link between income and turnout? We study a unique experiment in Finland, which randomly assigned a sizable group of unemployed to basic income for two years (2017-19). Leveraging individual-level registry and survey data, we show that replacing conditional unemployment benefits with unconditional basic income has large positive effects on actual voter turnout and subjective levels of political efficacy. On average, the intervention increases turnout in municipal elections by about 3 p.p., an effect that is magnified among marginal voters(+ 6-8 p.p.) and persists in national elections after the end of the experiment. Our analysis suggests that the turnout effects are driven by unconditionality increasing social capital - rather than income itself. We discuss implications for theories of voter turnout and policy feedback, and the design of basic income policies.
Subjects: 
Basic income
Field experiment
Turnout
JEL: 
C93
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.