Increasing and Diversifying Turnout in Non-electoral Participation: A Field Experiment.
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| Title: | Increasing and Diversifying Turnout in Non-electoral Participation: A Field Experiment. |
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| Authors: | Wittels, Annabelle S. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Political Behavior. Mar2026, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p517-539. 23p. |
| Subjects: | Incentive (Psychology), Participation, Research protocols, Field research, Community involvement, Political participation, Behavioral economics |
| Abstract: | Participation in non-electoral initiatives holds significance for good governance and democratic engagement, although they often encounter challenges like low involvement and the under-representation of disadvantaged groups. Insights from behavioral economics and psychology, commonly applied to electoral participation, offer potential strategies for boosting non-electoral engagement. This study seeks to investigate this area. It sets out a theoretical framework on how incentive frameworks of non-electoral participation differ from those of elections and what strategies could be designed to increase and diversify participation. It then puts this to the test empirically using a randomised field experiment with 29,008 households. It illustrates that rigorous testing of interventions is necessary to understand their impact across different democratic contexts: Contrary to what theory would predict for electoral contexts and paid-for work, all tested interventions significantly decrease participation in the governance initiative under study. Implications for further development of strategies targeting non-electoral participation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Participation in non-electoral initiatives holds significance for good governance and democratic engagement, although they often encounter challenges like low involvement and the under-representation of disadvantaged groups. Insights from behavioral economics and psychology, commonly applied to electoral participation, offer potential strategies for boosting non-electoral engagement. This study seeks to investigate this area. It sets out a theoretical framework on how incentive frameworks of non-electoral participation differ from those of elections and what strategies could be designed to increase and diversify participation. It then puts this to the test empirically using a randomised field experiment with 29,008 households. It illustrates that rigorous testing of interventions is necessary to understand their impact across different democratic contexts: Contrary to what theory would predict for electoral contexts and paid-for work, all tested interventions significantly decrease participation in the governance initiative under study. Implications for further development of strategies targeting non-electoral participation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 01909320 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11109-025-10040-8 |
