We compare the Electoral College and the popular vote in a stylized two-candidate, three-district election game. Under the Electoral College, the winner of a district acquires all votes of the electorate; under the popular vote, each candidate acquires the votes s/he actually wins in each...

In developing countries with weak enforcement institutions, there is implicitly a large reliance on electoral incentives to reduce corruption. In this paper we study the effect of electoral competition on corruption when uncertainty in elections is high, as in many developing countries. Our...

This paper investigates the effects of local exposure to refugees on electoral outcomes in the 2016 state election in Germany. Based on quasi-random variation in the allocation of refugees across municipalities and unique data on refugee populations and their type of accommodation, I find that...

This study seeks to identify the principal factors that influence the results of the House midterm elections. The regression findings suggest that Gallup presidential approval rankings, percentage changes in RGDP, and the results of Virginia’s gubernatorial elections enter positively in...

Two candidates competing for election may raise some issues for debate during the electoral campaign, while avoiding others. We present a model in which the decision to introduce an issue, or to reply to the opponent's position on one that she raised, may result in further additions to the list...

This paper studies the effects of interactions between campaign spending and ideology on voter polarization. In a setting where microtargeting of advertisements is prevalent, we consider how differences in the resources available to the parties competing in an election, affect the campaign and...

What is the relationship between electoral and economic performance? Previous literature posits that poor economic performance hurts the incumbent at the ballot box because overall economic performance serves as a competence signal, which voters can readily access at low costs. Building on an...

This article examines the interplay between social risks, welfare state policies and far right voting. Distinguishing between compensatory and protective policies and using data from seven waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) and social policy datasets, the article tests a range of...

The Republican Party has been the party most supportive of free trade in American politics for half a century. Donald Trump, the 45th US president, held a different stance from his party on free trade. We assess how Trump's China tariffs in mid-2018 impacted the performance of his party in its...