Reward or Punishment? Estimating the Distribution of Long-Run Returns to Political Office
With Nicolai Kristensen and Frederik Kjøller Larsen
Among candidates who run for office in Denmark we compare economic returns to winning office focusing on close winners and losers. We pay special attention to effect heterogeneity among candidates with different pre-office income potentials. (Abstract) (Paper)
Must Voters Choose Between Political Competence and Descriptive Representation?
With Rasmus Tue Pedersen
We show that Danish politicians are positively selected on competence compared to the population, that they are fairly representative, and that there is no trade-off between representation and selection on competence. We find that this is robust to a reform that decreased the number of politicians.
Published:
Living Together, Voting Together: Voters moving in together before an election have higher turnout
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen. Accepted in British Journal of Political Science.
We causally identify household effects on turnout. When two voters move together immediately before an election they become more likely to vote regardless of whether they both voted, both abstained, or one voted and one abstained in the previous election (Abstract) (Paper)
Twice the trouble: Twinning and the cost of voting
With Kasper M. Hansen.
Journal of Politics, 83(4), 2021.
Using twinning in the first parity as a natural experiment, we find that an additional child reduces turnout, especially for women. (Abstract) (Paper)
Political Candidacy and Sibling Sex Composition: Your sister will not make you run for office
With Rasmus Tue Pedersen.
First view in Political Behavior.
We explore family networks impact on political aspirations to learn if it contribute to the gender gap in political ambitions. We find that both men and women are equally likely to run regardless of the gender composition of the siblings. (Abstract)(Paper)
Back to School: The effects of school reopening on parents and children
With Zoltán Fazekas.
Scandinavian Political Studies, 44(3), 2021.
On 15 April, over a few days, Danish schools partially reopened. We present results from a two-wave panel survey collected for parents with children in the 4th to the 7th grade. We do not find major differences in how our outcomes of interest develop after the partial reopening. (Abstract)(Paper)
Bias in self-reported voting and how it distorts turnout models: disentangling nonresponse bias and overreporting among Danish voters
With Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, Kasper M. Hansen, and Yosef Bhatti. Political Analysis, 27(4), 2019.
With survey data and administrative data, we show that overreporting and nonresponse bias leads to overestimation of turnout and underestimation of relationships between background and turnout (Abstract) (Paper)
Core and Peripheral Voters: Predictors of Turnout across Three Types of Elections
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen. Political Studies, 67(2), 2019.
Across three Danish elections with varying turnot, we explore what characterizes voters and abstainer. We find that inequality in turnout is high when turnout is low (Abstract) (Paper)
Is door-to-door canvassing effective in Europe? Evidence from a meta-study across five European countries
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen. British Journal of Political Science, 49(1), 2019
We compile evidence from door-to-door canvassing experiments in Europe including new studies from Denmark. Door-to-door canvassing appear less efficient in Europe than in the US. (Abstract) (Paper)
Voter Reactions to Candidate Background Characteristics Depend on Candidate Policy Positions
With Rasmus Tue Pedersen and Manuele Citi. Electoral Studies, 61, 2019.
We show that voters evaluate candidates for political office on their background characteristics. Policy position strongly moderates what voters infer, sometimes turning disadvantageous traits (Abstract) (Paper)
Rewarding the Top: Citizens’ Opposition to Higher Pay for Politicians
With Lene Holm Pedersen and Rasmus Tue Pedersen. Scandinavian Political Studies, 42(2), 2019.
We show that higher salaries for politicians lead to less trust in politician. The effect is weaker when the increased pay is given in a more deceptive way. (Abstract) (Paper)
Trickle-up political socialization: The causal effect on turnout of parenting a newly enfranchised voter.
American Political Science Review, 112(3), 2018.
Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that when Danish adolescents come of voting age their parents become more likely to vote. (Abstract) (Paper)
Can Governments Use Get Out The Vote Letters to Solve Europe’s Turnout Crisis? Evidence from a Field Experiment
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen.
West European Politics, 41(1), 2018.
We mail direct personal letters with encouragements to vote to more than 60,000 first-time Danish voters. Using validated turnout, we find small positive effects of receiving a letter on turnout, with little difference across eight different letters. (Abstract) (Paper)
How Voter Mobilization from Short Text Messages Travels Within Households and Families: Evidence from two Nationwide Field Experiments
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen.
Electoral Studies 50, 2017.
We find that two field experiments where young voters were encouraged to vote by text messages also mobilized their cohabitants. (Abstract) (Paper)
How Election Polls Shape Voting Behavior
With Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, Kasper M. Hansen, and Martin Vinæs Larsen.
Scandinavian Political Studies 40(3), 2017.
We investigate how different voters respond to information from polls through the so-called bandwagon effect in a political context very different from those that have characterized earlier research. (Abstract) (Paper)
Moving the Campaign From the Front Door To the Front Pocket: Field Experimental Evidence on the Effect of Phrasing and Timing of Text Messages on Voter Turnout
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen. Journal Of Election, Public Opinion And Parties 27(3), 2017.
In four large get-out-the-vote field experiments, we find that sending text messages to voters produces modest effects on turnout. (Abstract) (Paper)
You just made it: Individual incumbency advantage under proportional representation
Electoral Studies 44, 2016.
Using a regressions discontinuity design, I find that Danish local councilors enjoy an incumbency advantage. Marginally elected councilors are more likely to rerun for office and to rerun and become elected. (Abstract) (Paper)
How are Voters Influenced by Opinion Polls? The Effect of Polls on Voting Behavior and Party Sympathy
With Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, Kasper M. Hansen, and Martin Vinæs Larsen.
World Political Science Review 12, 2016.
We use a survey experiment to test how voters respond to trends in polls. When voters learn that a party is gaining in the polls, they become more likely to vote for that party. (Abstract) (Paper)
Getting Out the Vote with Evaluative Thinking
With Yosef Bhatti, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen, and Kasper M. Hansen. American Journal of Evaluation 36(3), 2015.
We find that receiving the constitution in a letter shortly before the election increases turnout among 18-year-old Danish voters. A humorous letter produced a larger effect than a conventional letter. (Abstract) (Paper)
Jens Olav Dahlgaard 