How do voters respond when policymakers make economic decisions at varying scales? Using a lab experiment, this research examines voting behavior across individual, community, and national levels. The study finds that voter demand for information significantly decreases as the complexity of policy outcomes increases. Importantly, it reveals how other-regarding preferences influence electoral choices in these different contexts.
Key findings show:
- Voters prefer simpler economic environments when making decisions
- Information search correlates strongly with perceived environmental complexity
- Other-regarding voting patterns emerge consistently across all scales tested
These results provide new insights into voter behavior and suggest that policy design should consider the varying levels of information processing capacity among citizens.
