What Reduces Knowledge Inequalities in Direct Democatic Campaigns?

This paper proposes to study citizens‘ knowledge acquisition process in the framework of direct-democratic campaigns. More specifically, this contribution examines the question of which contextual circumstances lead to a reduction of resource-based inequalities when it comes to learning about the issues at stake. The main hypothesis posits that familiar issues of low complexity result in less differential learning, since such environments provide citizens with an easy learning situation. By contrast, unfamiliar and complex issues are expected to produce more discriminatory outcomes. The paper also considers individual determinants by focusing on the role played by political interest, media consumption, and interpersonal communication. The analysis includes three direct-democratic campaigns held in Switzerland, which vary with respect to the familiarity and the complexity of the proposals submitted to the vote. The empirical analysis makes use of panel survey data.