Wayne Sandholtz presents Policy information and electoral accountability: Experimental evidence from Liberia

Wayne Sandholtz presents at the WIDER Seminar Series on 11 October 2023.

Policy information and electoral accountability: Experimental evidence from Liberia

Abstract

Electoral accountability for policy requires that politicians and voters be informed about how policies work and who supports them. But measuring politicians' policy knowledge is difficult, as is measuring voters' knowledge about politicians' positions. In this paper, I conduct two interlocking information experiments among candidates and voters in Liberia. In the first experiment, I provide rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of a school reform to candidates for the House of Representatives. This information changed the way candidates campaigned, and made them less likely to win. In the second experiment, I provide voters with candidates' positions on the school reform. This increased voters' support for candidates who opposed the policy. This highlights the importance of designing public service reforms in politically incentive compatible ways.

About the presenter

Wayne Sandholtz is an Assistant Professor at Nova School of Business and Economics, and a resident member at NOVAFRICA. He received his PhD from UC San Diego in 2020. He works at the intersection of development, education, and political economy.

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases the latest research on key topics in development economics. It provides a forum for senior and early-career researchers, both in-house and external, to present recent and ongoing work related to UNU-WIDER’s current work programme.

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