Article

Why is corruption not punished at the ballot box?

The role played by news selection

Macarena Ares, Sofía Breitenstein and Enrique Hernández, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Project selected in the Call for experimental research projects in the social sciences

Why are some politicians involved in corruption cases re-elected? This study shows that people avoiding exposure to news on the corruption scandals affecting their favourite party could be one of the origins of the fact that punishment of corruption at the ballot box is usually on a minor scale and politicians suspected of being corrupt are frequently re-elected.
Key points
  • 1
       Punishment of corruption at the ballot box is reduced by people having an aversion to informing themselves about corruption cases affecting their favourite party.
  • 2
       Instead of reading about a corruption case affecting their party, the majority of those surveyed prefer reading news about good performance by that party or news about entertainment.
  • 3
       Avoiding reading about corruption means that it is punished to a lesser extent, particularly among people who opt to read entertainment news. If these people were more exposed to news about corruption, electoral punishment of it would increase considerably.
  • 4
       Among those citizens who have a greater knowledge of, and interest in, politics, and who prefer to stay abreast of this issue, exposure to news about a corruption scandal affecting their favourite party does not lead to any reduction in the probability of their voting for it.
corrupcionEleccionesEN_1.png

Classification

Tags

Subject areas

Related content

Article

Technocratic attitudes in Spain during the pandemic

In times of crisis, do citizens prefer to adopt a more technical type of government? According to this study, technocratic attitudes among Spanish people increased during the pandemic, especially among right-wing voters.

Activity

The geopolitics of major changes

Political, socioeconomic, and technological changes. We are immersed in major changes that are deserving of geopolitical analysis. To see where we are and where we are heading, together with the Barcelona International Studies Institute, we will debate on new industrial and technological challenges in this series of seminars.

Article

The presence of immigrants in local politics is well below their demographic weight in Spanish society

Do municipal councils in Spain reflect the diversity of origins of the population? We analyse access to local politics for immigrants and whether differences exist between the different foreign groups.

Infodata

Participation in volunteer activities and active citizenship

To what point do elderly people participate in political activities? Some 6.5% of men and 4.3% of women aged between 65 and 74 years in our country participate actively in politics.

Infodata

Public investment in elderly people

What percentage of public spending is allocated to elderly people? The tendency in European countries has been to increase the weight of the resources allocated to this group.

You may also find interesting

Social welfare systems and inequality in Europe

Report

Social welfare systems and inequality in Europe


Social Inclusion

Spain’s social protection system is less redistributive than those of other EU countries. What reforms could help reduce economic inequality in Spain?

Detection of workplace bullying and its negative impact on psychological well-being

Article

Detection of workplace bullying and its negative impact on psychological well-being


Social Inclusion

11.2% of the population present a high probability of suffering a situation of harassment in their workplace and may develop generalised anxiety disorder. How can possible cases of psychological harassment be detected?

Technocratic attitudes in Spain during the pandemic

Article

Technocratic attitudes in Spain during the pandemic


Social Inclusion

In times of crisis, do citizens prefer to adopt a more technical type of government? According to this study, technocratic attitudes among Spanish people increased during the pandemic, especially among right-wing voters.