The limits of the attractiveness premium in elections
| Autor: | Michael J. Wigginton, Daniel Stockemer |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Attractiveness
Cleavage (politics) 05 social sciences Physical attractiveness 16. Peace & justice 0506 political science Microeconomics Politics Salient Political science 0502 economics and business Political Science and International Relations 050602 political science & public administration 050207 economics |
| Zdroj: | Electoral Studies. 70:102274 |
| ISSN: | 0261-3794 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102274 |
| Popis: | The literature on looks and politics suggests that, at least in personalistic electoral systems, physical attractiveness helps candidates that are more attractive. We test this assumption using the unlikely case of Quebec, where provincial elections are highly salient, characterized by a strong cleavage, a sophisticated electorate and strong party- and leader-centeredness. Evaluating the effect of physical attractiveness on vote shares for nearly 5500 candidates in a multivariate analysis for four elections (i.e. 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2018), we find that physical attractiveness plays no role in determining candidates' vote shares. This applies for candidates' attractiveness score, as well as their attractiveness ranking relative to other candidates. For theory, this finding suggests that the effect of attractiveness on candidates’ electoral fortunes in winner takes all systems is contingent on other factors such as the existence of cleavages and the candidate- or party centeredness of the party system. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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