Why Do Rational People Vote in Large Elections with Costs to Vote?
نویسندگان
چکیده
Many people vote in large elections with costs to vote although the expected benefits would seem to be infinitesimal to a rational mind. We show that prospect and regret theories cannot solve this paradox of not voting and may even aggravate it. However, if the possibility of a decisive vote comes to mind, expected utility maximizers will doubt their preference for abstention and greatly overestimate the decisiveness of their own ballot. This yields a canonical rational choice solution to the paradox of not voting and, more generally, a rationale for the illusion of control governing all sorts of magical acts. JEL Classification: D72, D81
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