Abstract
We estimate habit formation in voting-the effect of past on current turnout-by exploiting transitory voting cost shocks. Using countylevel data on US presidential elections from 1952-2012, we find that rainfall on current and past election days reduces voter turnout. Our estimates imply that a 1-point decrease in past turnout lowers current turnout by 0.6-1.0 points. Further analyses suggest that habit formation operates by reinforcing the direct consumption value of voting and that our estimates may be amplified by social spillovers.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 160-188 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | American Economic Journal: Applied Economics |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2016 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)