Abstract
Proponents of Approval Voting argue that this electoral rule leads to more centrist outcomes compared to Plurality Voting. This claim has been substantiated by scholarly work using spatial models of political competition. We revisit this issue in the context of a model of political competition in which (1) candidates are policy-motivated; (2) candidacy decisions are endogenous; and (3) candidates can credibly commit to implementing any policy. Under these assumptions we find the opposite to be true – Plurality Voting yields convergence to the median voter’s ideal policy but Approval Voting may not. We argue that this result is driven by the differential incentives for candidate entry under the two voting rules. Our results suggest that whether Approval Voting yields more centrist outcomes vis-á-vis Plurality Voting depends on the possibility of policy commitment on the part of the candidates.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alesina A (1988) Credibility and policy convergence in a two-party system with rational voters. Am Econ Rev 78:796–805
Alesina A, Rosenthal H (2000) Polarized platforms and moderate policies with checks and balances. J Public Econ 75:1–20
Baron D (1994) Electoral competition with informed and uninformed voters. Am Polit Sci Rev 88:33–47
Bernhardt D, Ingberman D (1985) Candidate reputations and the ‘incumbency effect’. J Public Econ 27:47–67
Besley T, Coate S (1997) An economic model of representative democracy. Q J Econ 112:85–114
Brams S, Fishburn P (1978) Approval voting. Am Polit Sci Rev 72:831–847
Brams S, Fishburn P (1983) Approval voting. Birkhauser, Boston
Brams S, Nagel J (1991) Approval voting in practice. Public Choice 71:1–17
Callander S (2005) Electoral competition in heterogenous districts. J Polit Econ 113:1116–1145
Calvert R (1985) Robustness of the multidimensional voting model: candidate motivations, uncertainty, and convergence. Am J Polit Sci 29:69–95
Cox G (1985) Electoral equilibrium under approval voting. Am J Polit Sci 29:112–118
Cox G (1987) Electoral equilibrium under alternative voting institutions. Am J Polit Sci 31:82–108
Dellis A, Oak M (2006) Approval voting with endogenous candidates. Games Econ Behav 54:47–76
Fauli-Oller R, Ok E, Ortuno-Ortin I (2003) Delegation and polarization of platforms in political competition. Econ Theory 22:289–309
Feddersen T, Sened I, Wright S (1990) Rational voting and candidate entry under plurality rule. Am J Polit Sci 34:1005–1016
Gans J, Smart M (1996) Majority voting with single-crossing preferences. J Public Econ 59:219–237
Laslier J-F (2005) Strategic approval voting in a large electorate. Mimeo
Martinelli C (2001) Elections with privately informed parties and voters. Public Choice 108:147–167
Messner M, Polborn M (2004) Paying politicians. J Public Econ 88:2423–2445
Myerson R (2002) Comparison of scoring rules in Poisson voting games. J Econ Theory 103:219–251
Myerson R, Weber R (1993) A theory of voting equilibria. Am Polit Sci Rev 87:102–114
Osborne M (1993) Candidate positioning and entry in a political competition. Games Econ Behav 5:133–151
Osborne M (1995) Spatial models of political competition under plurality rule: a survey of some explanations of the number of candidates and the positions they take. Can J Econ 28:261–301
Osborne M (2000) Entry-deterring policy differentiation by electoral candidates. Math Soc Sci 40:41–62
Osborne M, Slivinski A (1996) A model of political competition with citizen candidates. Q J Econ 111:65–96
Palfrey T (1984) Spatial equilibrium with entry. Rev Econ Stud 51:139–156
Roemer J (1997) Political-economic equilibrium when parties represent constituents: the unidimensional case. Soc Choice Welfare 14:479–502
Roemer J (2001) Political competition Theory and applications. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Weber S (1992) On hierarchical spatial competition. Rev Econ Stud 59:407–425
Weber S (1998) Entry deterrence in electoral spatial competition. Soc Choice Welfare 15:31–56
Wittman D (1983) Candidate motivation: a synthesis of alternatives. Am Polit Sci Rev 77:142–157
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
In an election held under PV each citizen is given one vote he can cast for one (and only one) candidate, and the candidate who gets the most votes wins the election.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dellis, A., Oak, M. Policy convergence under approval and plurality voting: the role of policy commitment. Soc Choice Welfare 29, 229–245 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-006-0203-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-006-0203-2