SHORTCUTS VERSUS ENCYCLOPEDIAS: INFORMATION AND VOTING BEHAVIOR IN CALIFORNIA INSURANCE REFORM ELECTIONS

摘要: Voters in mass elections are notorious for their apparent lack of information about relevant political matters. While some scholars argue that an electorate well-informed voters is necessary the production responsive electoral outcomes, others apparently ignorant will suffice because they can adapt behavior to complexity choice. To evaluate validity these arguments, I develop and analyze a survey California who faced five complicated insurance reform ballot initiatives. find access particular class widely available shortcuts allowed badly informed emulate relatively well voters. This finding suggestive conditions under which encyclopedic content debates nevertheless use vote as though were informed.