Employment, Wages and Voter Turnout
نویسندگان
چکیده
We argue that, since activities providing political information are complementary with leisure, increased labor market activity should lower voter turnout, doing so least in elections with ubiquitous information. Using county-level data, we find that increased wages and employment: reduce gubernatorial turnout; do not affect Presidential turnout; and raise the share of persons casting a Presidential but not a Congressional vote on the same ballot. Alternative arguments based on psychological motivations to vote, logistical voting costs, or transitory migration cannot fully explain these patterns. Individual-level panel data results showing that increased employment lowers media usage and political knowledge corroborate our argument. JEL Codes: D72, D80, J22
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