Die Partei „Alternative für Deutschland“ (AfD) hätte bei einer Bundestagswahl im Dezember 2016 mehr Stimmen bekommen als alle anderen Oppositionsparteien in Deutschland. Die Forschungsgruppe Wahlen e.V. weist in ihrem Politbarometer für Dezember 2016 eine Zustimmung zur AfD von 12 Prozent...

Donald Trump is now the 45th president of the USA. Behavioral economics can explain why he was successful even though his positions are somewhat controversial. Furthermore, his success raises critical implications for Europe’s next elections. Some of the main reasons for the success of...

This paper investigates the differential response of male and female voters to competitive persuasion in political campaigns. We implemented a survey experiment during the (mixed gender) electoral race for mayor in Milan (2011), and a field experiment during the (same gender) electoral race for...

This paper investigates the differential response of male and female voters to competitive persuasion in political campaigns. We implemented a survey experiment during the (mixed gender) electoral race for mayor in Milan (2011), and a field experiment during the (same gender) electoral race for...

Die vorliegende Dissertation verwendet empirische Methoden zur Untersuchung von Problemen in den Bereichen Makroökonomie, internationaler Handel, Politische Ökonomie und Verhaltensökonomie. Kapitel 1 besteht aus einer Zusammenfassung der Literatur zur Frage, welche Faktoren die...

Voting is an important form of civic participation in democratic societies but a fundamental right that many citizens do not exercise. This study investigates the effects of welfare reform in the U.S. in the 1990s on voting of low income women. Using the November Current Population Surveys with...

In European Parliament elections turnout rates, traditionally lower than in national parliamentary elections, decrease from one elections to the next, and show strong variations within and between countries. What explains this decline? Why are there such big differences between and within the EU...

This paper documents the impact of voter turnout on top marginal tax rates in the 34 OECD countries for the period between 1974 and 2014. Across a number of specifications, I find that increases in voter turnout have a positive and statistically significant effect on top tax rates. This finding...

Mit zunehmender Flüchtlingsmigration nach Deutschland haben SPD-Chef Sigmar Gabriel und andere Politiker mögliche Verteilungskonflikte thematisiert. Besonders die sozial Schwachen würden vernachlässigt und in die Arme rechter Parteien getrieben. Zwischen Sorgen über die Zuwanderung auf der...

This thesis comprises four empirical research papers in the area of political economics. While the first two chapters deal with questions related to direct democracy, chapters three and four are about topics linked to representative democracy.

Public investment, for instance in infrastructure, has been constantly decreasing for four decades. New research by RWI for 13 OECD-countries shows: this development significantly correlates with population aging. Senior citizens do not value future payoffs of infrastructure projects and other...

We test the theory of expressive voting in relation to political ideology in a laboratory experiment. After deriving our hypotheses from a decision theoretic model, we examine voting decisions in an experiment in which we use the size of the electorate as the treatment variable. Using a Heckman...

This volume was prepared by Markus Reischmann while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in June 2015 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich in November 2015. It includes five self-contained chapters in the fields of public...

We study the effect of public information on collective decision-making in a committee with members of both common and conflicting interests. We show that the set of preferences that allow for the existence of an informative voting equilibrium can be heavily restricted by the presence of a...

In contrast to national elections, both parties and voters are assumed to think that "less is at stake" in European elections: Campaigns are less intense, turnout is lower, and citizens are more inclined to "vote with their hearts". The latter should be reflected in differing rationales of...

Partisan conflict and policy uncertainty are frequently invoked as factors contributing to slow post-crisis recoveries. Recent events in Europe provide ample evidence that the political aftershocks of financial crises can be severe. In this paper we study the political fall-out from systemic...