Seminar by Aniol Llorente Saguer

SALA SEMINARI – 1° PIANO, PALAZZO LEVI CASES, VIA DEL SANTO 33 - ORE 12.30

09.04.2019

Seminar by Aniol Llorente Saguer, Queen Mary University of London

Title:"Runoff Elections in the Laboratory" joint with Laurent Bouton, Jorge Gallego and Rebecca Morton

Abstract: We study experimentally the properties of the majority runoff system and compare them to the ones of plurality rule, in the setup of a divided majority. This comparison is motivated by the theoretical prediction that plurality tends to produce (weakly) higher coordination of votes on two parties than majority runoff, giving rise to Duverger's Law equilibria. The experiment shows similar levels of coordination under both mechanisms, even when sincere voting is an equilibrium under majority runoff. We then explore various possible explanations for this result. One possibility is that subjects have a limited understanding of the runoff system and overweight the likelihood of outright victory in the first round. We explore this hypothesis in additional treatments where the incentives the Duverger's law forces are extremely low. We find some support for that explanation.