Quarterly Journal of Political Science > Vol 3 > Issue 2

Location and Policy Preferences

Robert Urbatsch, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Iowa State University, rur@iastate.edu
 
Suggested Citation
Robert Urbatsch (2008), "Location and Policy Preferences", Quarterly Journal of Political Science: Vol. 3: No. 2, pp 141-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/100.00007041

Publication Date: 29 Jul 2008
© 2008 R. Urbatsch
 
Subjects
Comparative politics,  Public opinion,  Democracy
 

Share

Download article
In this article:
Borders, Jurisdictional Specificity, and Policy Preference 
Evidence from Swiss Referendums 
Conclusion 
Appendices 
References 

Abstract

Individuals with access to multiple jurisdictions can choose to distribute their consumption of many government policies across various polities to avoid costs imposed by their own government. This alters preferences over their own government's policies, suggesting such voters should disproportionately favor policies whose costs are evadable. Referendum voting from the Switzerland and the United States confirms this theorizing: border areas, where the populations have systematically greater access to other jurisdictions, see significantly different levels of support for a variety of policy measures, including abortion policy, legal retirement age, and sales tax rates.

DOI:10.1561/100.00007041