Abstract (may include machine translation)
The expression “cash-for-votes” describes a form of vote buying in which candidates for office pay individuals in exchange for their votes. That practice undermines the functioning of democracy but is pervasive in many parts of the world, especially in the Global South. We discuss estimates of cash-for-votes and rational choice theories explaining their existence. Cash-for-votes under secret ballots is puzzling, as secret ballots make it impossible to verify an individual's vote. We discuss the behavioral and experimental literature emphasizing factors such as reciprocity, unsophisticated voting, and inequality aversion, which complement standard economic explanations of the phenomenon.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Choice |
| Editors | Richard Jong-A-Pin, Christian Bjørnskov |
| Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. |
| Pages | 483–492 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781802207750, 9781035372690 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781802207743 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 18 Nov 2025 |
Publication series
| Name | Elgar Encyclopedias in Economics and Finance |
|---|
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Keywords
- Behavioral economics
- Cash-for-votes
- Electoral manipulation
- Secret ballot
- Vote-buying
- Voter reciprocity
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