Replication data for: When do the Rich Vote Less than the Poor and Why? Explaining Turnout Inequality across the World

The conventional wisdom that the poor are less likely to vote than the rich is based upon research on voting behavior in advanced industrialized countries. However, in some places the relationship between turnout and socioeconomic status is reversed. We argue that the potential tax exposure of the rich explains the positive relationship between income and voting in some places and not others. Where the rich anticipate taxation, they have a greater incentive to participate in politics and politicians are more likely to use fiscal policy to gain support. We explore two factors affecting the tax exposure of the rich -- the political salience of redistribution in party politics and the state's extractive capacity. Using survey data from developed and developing countries, we demonstrate that the rich turn out to vote at higher rates when the political preferences of the rich and poor diverge and where bureaucratic capacity is high.

传统主流观点认为，贫困人群的投票率低于富裕群体，该结论的立论基础为发达工业化国家的选举行为研究。然而在部分地区，投票参与率与社会经济地位之间的关联却呈现反向态势。本文提出，富裕群体的潜在税负暴露程度，可解释为何部分地区收入水平与投票参与率呈正相关关系，而其余地区则无此关联。当富裕群体预期将面临税负时，其参与政治的动机将显著增强，同时政客也更倾向于运用财政政策来争取选民支持。本文探讨了两类影响富裕群体税负暴露的因素：一是政党政治中再分配议题的政治显著性，二是国家的财政汲取能力。通过整合发达国家与发展中国家的调查数据，本文实证表明：当贫富群体的政治偏好存在分歧，且官僚体系能力较高时，富裕群体的投票参与率会更高。