Uncertainty and risk taking in representative democracy

Abstract

In representative democracy, both voters and politicians are confronted with inherent uncertainty and risks. Voters face uncertainty in regard to the future, and, specifically, the future behavior of their elected representatives, while politicians have to deal with uncertainty about the future implications of their political decisions, both in terms of substantive policy effects and in terms of career effects if voters should judge their behavior unfavorably. How voters and politicians react to these risks is of imminent importance for representative democracy as it will affect political preferences, voting behavior, political positions and political decision-making. Due to the feedback-loops in representative democracy, risk preferences and behavior of voters in situations of uncertainty will have repercussions for politicians and vice versa. Hence, the panel brings together the perspectives of both voters and politicians, addressing the following questions: - How do voters / politicians perceive uncertainty and risks? - How do they react to uncertain outcomes? - Under which circumstances are they prepared to take risks? - Does risk-taking pay off? The papers on the panel analyze these questions based on different examples and different theoretical and methodological approaches.

Title	Details
Risk Preferences and Outcome Bias in the Delegation Process	View Paper Details
The risk of negative campaigning from a decision theoretical perspective	View Paper Details
How Uncertainty in Times of Crisis Affect the Main Divides in a Society	View Paper Details
Shifting Motivations: Inferring Credibility from Policy Shifts	View Paper Details