Vote-Buying and Reciprocity

Abstract

While vote-buying is common, most models of elections suggest it should not exist given that politicians and voters cannot credibly commit. We argue that vote-buying is sustained by an internalized norm of reciprocity. Receiving money engenders feelings of obligation, while not receiving money engenders desires for revenge. Combining survey data on vote-buying with experiment-based measures of reciprocity, we show that politicians target reciprocal individuals, and reciprocal individuals are in turn more likely to vote for the party from which they accepted a good. This highlights the importance of social preferences in determining behavior, particularly when commitment problems are present.