Habit formation in voting: Evidence from rainy elections

Thomas Fujiwara; Kyle Meng; Tom Vogl

doi:10.1257/app.20140533

Habit formation in voting: Evidence from rainy elections

Thomas Fujiwara, Kyle Meng, Tom Vogl

Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

98 Scopus citations

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)
Pages (from-to)	160-188
Number of pages	29
Journal	American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Volume	8
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140533
State	Published - 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

General Economics, Econometrics and Finance

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10.1257/app.20140533

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title = "Habit formation in voting: Evidence from rainy elections",

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.",

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AU - Vogl, Tom

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Habit formation in voting: Evidence from rainy elections

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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