Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149209 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10350
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Do emotions affect the decision between change and the status quo? We exploit exogenous variation in emotions caused by rain and analyze data on more than 400 ballot propositions in Switzerland for the years 1958 to 2014 to address this question. The empirical tests are based on administrative ballot outcomes and individual postvote survey data. We find that rain decreases the share of votes for a change. Our robustness checks suggest that changes in the composition of the electorate or changes in information acquisition do not drive this result. In addition, we provide evidence that rain might have altered the outcome of several high-stake votes. We discuss the psychological mechanism and document that rain reduces the willingness to take risks, a pattern that is consistent with the observed reduction in the support of change.
Subjects: 
emotions
voting
status quo
risk aversion
rain
direct democracy
turnout
JEL: 
D03
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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