What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys
Publication
, Journal Article
Burke, J; Taylor, CR
Published in: Public Choice
October 1, 2008
We examine the ability of pre-election polls to aggregate information about voter preferences. We show that if the electorate is small and voting costs are negligible, then an equilibrium exists in which citizens report their true political preferences. If the electorate is large or voting costs are significant, however, then no such equilibrium exists because poll respondents possess incentives to influence the voting behavior of others by misreporting their true preferences. We find that when a truthful equilibrium does exist, a poll can raise expected welfare by discouraging turnout among members of the minority. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Duke Scholars
Published In
Public Choice
DOI
ISSN
0048-5829
Publication Date
October 1, 2008
Volume
137
Issue
1-2
Start / End Page
221 / 244
Related Subject Headings
- Economics
- 4408 Political science
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1606 Political Science
- 1402 Applied Economics
Citation
APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Burke, J., & Taylor, C. R. (2008). What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys. Public Choice, 137(1–2), 221–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-008-9322-x
Burke, J., and C. R. Taylor. “What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys.” Public Choice 137, no. 1–2 (October 1, 2008): 221–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-008-9322-x.
Burke J, Taylor CR. What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys. Public Choice. 2008 Oct 1;137(1–2):221–44.
Burke, J., and C. R. Taylor. “What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys.” Public Choice, vol. 137, no. 1–2, Oct. 2008, pp. 221–44. Scopus, doi:10.1007/s11127-008-9322-x.
Burke J, Taylor CR. What's in a poll? Incentives for truthful reporting in pre-election opinion surveys. Public Choice. 2008 Oct 1;137(1–2):221–244.
Published In
Public Choice
DOI
ISSN
0048-5829
Publication Date
October 1, 2008
Volume
137
Issue
1-2
Start / End Page
221 / 244
Related Subject Headings
- Economics
- 4408 Political science
- 3801 Applied economics
- 1606 Political Science
- 1402 Applied Economics