Time to Vote?

26 Pages Posted: 24 Jul 2011

See all articles by John Gibson

John Gibson

University of Waikato; Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

Bonggeun Kim

Hanyang University - Economics

Steven Stillman

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Geua Boe-Gibson

University of Waikato

Abstract

Despite the centrality of voting costs to the paradox of voting, little effort has been made to accurately measure these costs outside of a few spatially limited case studies. In this paper, we apply Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to validated national election survey data from New Zealand. We calculate distance and travel time by road from the place of residence to the nearest polling place and combine our time estimate with imputed wages for all sample members. Using this new measure of the opportunity cost of voting to predict turnout at the individual level, we find that small increases in the opportunity costs of time can have large effects in reducing voter turnout.

Keywords: paradox of voting, opportunity cost, travel time

JEL Classification: D7, R4

Suggested Citation

Gibson, John and Kim, Bonggeun and Stillman, Steven and Boe-Gibson, Geua, Time to Vote?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5854, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1893934 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1893934

John Gibson (Contact Author)

University of Waikato ( email )

Te Raupapa
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton, Waikato 3240
New Zealand

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

19 Milne Terrace
Island Bay
Wellington, 6002
New Zealand

Bonggeun Kim

Hanyang University - Economics ( email )

Seoul 133-791
Korea
+82-2-2220-1025 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.hanyang.ac.kr/search/new/eindex.html

Steven Stillman

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano ( email )

Via Sernesi 1
39100 Bozen-Bolzano (BZ), Bozen 39100
Italy

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Geua Boe-Gibson

University of Waikato

Te Raupapa
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton, Waikato 3240
New Zealand

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