Effects of social norms and fractionalization on voting behavior in Japan

yamamura, eiji (2008): Effects of social norms and fractionalization on voting behavior in Japan.

Abstract

This paper uses prefecture-level panel data from Japan, spanning the period 1989–2003, to examine the influence of social norms and fractionalization on voting behavior. The key findings obtained from analysis via the fixed effects estimation, which controls for unobserved prefecture-specific fixed effects, are as follows: (1) the voter turnout is higher in close-knit communities, indicating that social norms enhance voting; (2) fractionalization, from both economic and generational standpoints, lowers the voter turnout; and (3) a lack of social capital can lead to the distribution of votes being spread thinly among the competing parties.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Voter turnout ･ Distribution of votes ･ Social norms ･ Fractionalization
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D70 - General; D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

References

Alesina, A., Baqir, R., and Easterly, W. (1999). Public goods and ethnic divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114, 1243-1284.

Alesina, A., and La Ferrara, E. (2000). Participation in heterogeneous communities. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115, 847-904.

Alesina, A., and La Ferrara, E. (2002). Who trusts others?. Journal of Public Economics, 85, 207-234.

Ansolabehere, S., and Konisky, D. (2006). The introduction of voter registration and its effects on turnout. Political Analysis, 14, 83-100.

Asahi Newspaper. MINRYOKU, Tokyo: Asahi Newspaper Publishing.

Atlas, C.M., Gilligan, T.W., Hendershott, R.J. and Zupan, M.A. (1995). Slicing the federal government net spending pie: Who wins, who loses, and why. American Economic Review, 85, 624-629.

Baltagi, B. (2005). Econometric analysis of panel data, John Wiley and Sons.

Barreto, M.A., Segura. G.M., Woods, N.D. (2004). The mobilizing effect of majority-minority districts on Latino turnout. American Political Science Review, 98, 65-75.

Bjornskov, C. (2006). Determinants of generalized trust: A cross-country comparison. Public Choice, 130, 1-21.

Blais, A. (2006). What affects voter turnout? Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 111-125.

Buchanan, J. M. (1978). Markets, states, and the extent of morals. American Economic Review, 68, 364-468.

Calabrese, S., Epple, D., Romer., and Sieg, H. (2006). Local public good provision: Voting, peer effects, and mobility. Journal of Public Economics, 90, 959-981.

Campbell, A., Converse, P.E., Stokes, D.E., and Miller, W.E. (1960). The American voter. New York: Wiley.

Cebula, R.J. (2004). Expressiveness and voting: Alternative evidence. Atlantic Economic Journal, 32, 215-220.

Coleman, J.S. (1990). Foundation of social theory. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Copeland, C., and Laband, D.N. (2002). Expressiveness and voting. Public Choice, 110, 351-363.

Costa, D. L., and Kahn, M.E. (2003). Cowards and heroes: group loyalty in the American civil war. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 519-548.

Curtis, G.L. (1988). The Japanese way of politics. New York: Columbia University Press.

Deaton, A. (1997). The Analysis of Household Surveys. London: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Depasquale, D., and Glaeser, E.L. (1999). Incentives and social capital: are homeowners better citizens? Journal of Urban Economics, 45, 354-384.

Downs, A. (1957). An economic theory of democracy. Harper & Row, New York.

Frey, B. (1971). Why do high-income people participate more in politics. Public Choice, 11, 10-15.

Funk, P. (2005). Government action, social norms, and criminal behavior. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 161, 522-35.

Funk, P. (2007). Social incentives and voter turnout: theory and evidence. Working paper. http://www.econ.upf.edu/~funk/papers/Signalling_Final.pdf.

Funk, P., and Gathmann, C. (2007). What women want: Suffrage, gender gaps in voter preferences and government expenditures. Working paper. http://www.econ.upf.edu/~funk/papers/Suffrage_Paper.pdf.

Gibson, J.B. (1994). Voter reaction to tax change: the case of the poll tax. Applied Economics, 26, 877-884.

Greene, W.H. (1997). Econometric Analysis (3 eds), Prentice-Hall: London.

Greene, K. V. and Nikolaev, O. (1999). Voter participation and the redistributive state. Public Choice, 98, 213-226.

Hayami, Y. (2001). Development Economics: From the Poverty to the Wealth of Nations. Tokyo: Iwanami Publishing.

Hayami, Y., & Godo, Y. (2002). Nogyo Keizai-ron ( Agricultural Economics). Tokyo: Iwanami Publishing.

Hsiao, C. (1986). Analysis of Panel Data. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Index Corporation.　(2006) Chiiki toukei 2006 (CD-ROM edition), Tokyo: Index corporation.

Jordahl, H. (2006). An economic analysis of voting in Sweden. Public Choice, 127, 251-273.

Kaniovski, S., & Mueller, D.C. (2006). Community size, heterogeneity and voter turnouts. Public Choice, 129, 399-415.

Kawaura, A. (2003). Public resource allocation and electoral systems in the U.S. and Japan. Public Choice, 115, 63-81.

Knack, S. (1992). Civic norms, social sanctions and voter turnout. Rationality and Society, 4, 133-156.

La Ferrara, E. (2002). Inequality and group participation: theory and evidence from rural Tanzania. Journal of Public Economics, 85, 235-273.

Leigh, A. (2006a). Does equality lead to fraternity? Economics letters, 93, 121-125.

Leigh, A. (2006b). Trust, inequality, and ethnic heterogeneity, Economic Record, 82, 268-280.

Lind, Jo. T. (2006). Fractionalization and the size of government. Journal of Public Economics, 91, 51-76.

Manski, C.F. (1993). Identification of endogenous social effects: the reflection problem. Review of Economic Studies, 60, 531-542.

Matos, J. A. and Barros, P.P. (2004). Social norms and paradox of elections’ turnout. Public Choice, 121, 239-255.

Matsusaka, J. G. and Palda,F. (1999). Voter turnout: How much can we explain?. Public Choice, 98, 431-446.

Meyer, S.A. and Naka,S. (1998). Legislative influences in Japanese budgetary politics. Public Choice, 94, 267-288.

Meyer, S.A. and Naka,S. (1999). The determinants of Japanese local-benefit seeking. Contemporary Economic Policy, 17, 87-96.

Miguel, E., and Gugerty, M.K. (2005). Ethnic diversity, social sanctions, and public goods in Kenya. Journal of Public Economics, 89, 2325-2368.

Miyake, I. 1989. Tohyo kodo (The voting behavior). Tokyo: Tokyo University Press.

Montalvo, J. G. & Reynal-Querol,M. (2005). Ethnic polarization, potential conflict, and civil wars, American Economic Review, 95, 796-816.

Nelson, P. (1994). Voting & imitative behaviors. Economic Inquiry, 32, 92-102.

Nie, N., Junn, J., and Stehlik-Berry, K. (1996). Education and citizenship in America. Chicago: Cambridge University Press.

Opp, K.D. (2001). Why do people vote? The cognitive-illusion proposition and its test. Kyklos, 54, 355-378.

Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. A Touchstone Book.

Reed, S. R. (1986). Japanese prefectures and policy making. Pittsburg: The University of Pittsburgh.

Schram, A. and van Winden, F. (1991). Why people vote. Free riding and the production and consumption of social pressure. Journal of Economic Psychology, 12, 575-620.

Schram, A. (1992). Testing economic theories of voter behavior using micro-data. Applied Economics, 24, 419-428.

Shachar, R. and Nalebuff, B. (1999). Follow the leader: theory and evidence on political participation. American Economic Review, 89, 525-547.

Tollison, R.D., and Willett, T.D. (1973). Some simple economics of voting and not voting. Public Choice, 16, 59-71.

Uhlaner, C. J. (1989). Relational goods and participation: Incorporating sociability into a theory of rational action. Public Choice, 62, 253-285.

Vigdor, J.L., (2004). Community composition and collective action: Analyzing initial mail response to the 2000 census. Review of Economics and Statistics 86, 303-312.

Wolfinger, R.E., and Rosenstone, S.J. (1980). Who votes? New Haven; Yale University Press.

Yamamura, E. (2008a). Diffusion of Home Computers and Social Networks: A Study using Japanese Panel Data. Forthcoming in Applied Economics Letters.

Yamamura, E. (2008b). The Effects of Inequality, Fragmentation, and Social Capital on Collective Action in a Homogeneous Society: Analyzing Responses to the 2005 Japan Census. Forthcoming in Journal of Socio-economics.