Turnout, political preferences and information: Experimental evidence from Perú

Electoral institutions that encourage citizens to vote are widely used around the world. Yet littleis known about the effects of such institutions on voter participation and the composition of the electorate.In this paper, I combine a field experiment with a change in Peruvian voting laws to identify theeffect of monetary (dis-)incentives on voting. Using the random variation in the fine for abstention andan objective measure of turnout at the individual level, I estimate the elasticity of voting with respectto cost to be -0.21. Consistent with the theoretical model presented, the reduction in turnout inducedby the reduction in the fine is driven by voters who (i) are in the center of the political spectrum, (ii)are less interested in politics, and (iii) hold less political information. However, voters who respondto changes in the cost of abstention do not have different preferences for policies than those who voteregardless of the cost. Further, involvement in politics, as measured by the decision to acquire politicalinformation, seems to be independent of the level of the fine. Additional results indicate that thereduction in the fine does not affect the incidence of vote buying, but increases the price paid for avote.

Iowa Individual Income Tax School District, Tax Year 1997

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2000

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2001

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2002

Iowa School District Surtax Report 2002

Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2003

Iowa School District Surtax Report 2003

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Iowa Individual Income Annual Tax Statistical Report 1997

Iowa Individual Income Tax Statistical Report 1997

Iowa Individual Income Tax Annual Statistical Report 1998

Iowa Individual Income Tax Statistical Report 1998

Iowa Individual Income Tax Annual Statistical Report 1999

Iowa Individual Income Tax Statistical Report 1999

Iowa Individual Income Tax Annual Statistical Report 2000

Iowa Individual Income Tax Statistical Report 2000

Iowa Individual Income Tax Annual Statistical Report 2001

Iowa Individual Income Tax Statistical Report 2001