Replication Data for: Information Consumption and Electoral Accountability in Mexico

Electoral accountability rests on voters re-electing high-performing and removing low-performing incumbents. However, voters in many developing contexts are poorly informed about incumbent performance, particularly of local politicians. This dissertation asks: how do voters in low-information environments hold local governments to account for their performance in office? I seek to explain when Mexican voters obtain performance information pertaining to their municipal incumbents, and ultimately how it impacts their beliefs and voting behavior. I argue that voters are able and willing to sanction local governments upon receiving incumbent performance indicators. However, electoral accountability requires incentives for voters and media outlets to respectively acquire and supply politically-relevant news. Information in the news just before elections, when these incentives align, thus strongly influences electoral accountability. I test these propositions by examining in detail voter responses to two key issues in Mexican politics---malfeasance in office and violent crime.