Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/82121 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
EPRU Working Paper Series No. 2010-10
Publisher: 
University of Copenhagen, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), Copenhagen
Abstract: 
We set up a model of elections or referendums with two alternatives to study how voter turnout and election outcomes are affected by the publication of exit polls on election day. We find that the introduction of an exit poll influences the incentive to vote both before and after the poll is published, but the signs of the effects are generally ambiguous. The fact that exit polls influence the incentive to vote before they are even published is sometimes overlooked in the debate on their desirability. We show that this can lead to premature conclusions about the impact of exit polls on election outcomes.
Subjects: 
elections
exit polls
voter turnout
JEL: 
D71
D72
D82
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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