Endogenous Party Identities

A party develops its identity by adopting biased policy positions consistently over time. Existing rational voting models explain distinct party identities by assuming intrinsic policy-motivated parties or candidates. We show that distinct party identities may arise when parties are purely o ce-motivated in a dynamic setting with impressionable voters. In particular, a voter is more likely to vote for a party if she has had a positive experience with the party in the past. As voters' experiences depend on chosen policies, impressionable voting creates a dynamic linkage between policy choices across time. We show that the heterogeneity of the electorate is su cient to induce distinct party identities. ∗Dean and Emmott Dedman Professor, Harris School of Public Policy, The University of Chicago, 1155 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, [email protected] and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Program on Institutions, Organizations, and Growth, CIFAR, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8. †Department of Economics, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL. 60208, [email protected]