òòò½Íø

This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. òòò½Íø
  3. òòò½Íø Review
  4. August 2022
  5. All Eyes on Them: A Field Experiment on Citizen Oversight and Electoral Integrity

òòò½Íø Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

All Eyes on Them: A Field Experiment on Citizen Oversight and Electoral Integrity

  • Natalia Garbiras-Díaz
  • Mateo Montenegro
òòò½Íø Review
vol. 112, no. 8, August 2022
(pp. 2631–68)
Download Full Text PDF

Abstract

Can information and communication technologies help citizens monitor their elections? We analyze a large-scale field experiment designed to answer this question in Colombia. We leveraged Facebook advertisements sent to over 4 million potential voters to encourage citizen reporting of electoral irregularities. We also cross-randomized whether candidates were informed about the campaign in a subset of municipalities. Total reports, and evidence-backed ones, experienced a large increase. Across a wide array of measures, electoral irregularities decreased. Finally, the reporting campaign reduced the vote share of candidates dependent on irregularities. This light-touch intervention is more cost-effective than monitoring efforts traditionally used by policymakers.

Citation

Garbiras-Díaz, Natalia, and Mateo Montenegro. 2022. "All Eyes on Them: A Field Experiment on Citizen Oversight and Electoral Integrity." òòò½Íø Review 112 (8): 2631–68. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210778

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • C93 Field Experiments
  • D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
  • D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
  • O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements