Legal Equality and Effective Inequality: Representation across Neighborhoods

• In Event: The Selection and Retention of Politicians of and by Underrepresented Groups

Abstract

Universal suffrage is the rule in almost all countries that hold elections today. Existing evidence, however, amply demonstrates that legal equality does not necessarily translate into equal effective representation. This paper investigates the impact of socioeconomic factors on citizens’ abilities to elect their preferred candidate. Client-politics explanations suggest that top-down efforts enhance coordination and increase the effectiveness of low-income voters in electing their chosen candidates. Alternatively, collective action theories highlight education and income as contributors to coordination and vote effectiveness. We test these competing hypotheses in Brazil, where mandatory voting drives high participation rates across socioeconomic groups. Using a unique dataset that combines election results at the polling station level and census-tract data, we show that even in the context of close to full participation, underprivileged groups are less likely to translate their political participation into political representation.

Authors

• Jose Antonio Cheibub, University of Pittsburgh

• Andrea Junqueira, Arkansas State University

• Thiago M. Q. Moreira, Louisiana State University