On the design of citizens' initiatives in a union of states

TY - JOUR

T1 - On the design of citizens' initiatives in a union of states

AU - Maaser, Nicola

PY - 2013/7

Y1 - 2013/7

N2 - The paper studies the design of popular initiatives in unions of states. We analyze the effect of state-specific threshold requirements on the incentives of a rational campaign organizer who decides which constituencies to target. If the heterogeneity of preferences in a population increases with its size, degressively proportional thresholds satisfy the normative objective of 'neutrality' between individuals from different states. In contrast, thresholds which are linear in population size are 'neutral' if a priori no differences between states are acknowledged.

AB - The paper studies the design of popular initiatives in unions of states. We analyze the effect of state-specific threshold requirements on the incentives of a rational campaign organizer who decides which constituencies to target. If the heterogeneity of preferences in a population increases with its size, degressively proportional thresholds satisfy the normative objective of 'neutrality' between individuals from different states. In contrast, thresholds which are linear in population size are 'neutral' if a priori no differences between states are acknowledged.

KW - Direct democracy

KW - Initiatives

KW - Political campaigns

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876462281&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.03.035

DO - 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.03.035

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84876462281

SN - 0165-1765

VL - 120

SP - 36

EP - 39

JO - Economics Letters

JF - Economics Letters

IS - 1

ER -