Political actors playing games: Theory and experiments

Political actors exert enormous influence over our daily lives. Their influence on economic activities cannot be underestimated. Voters determine the distribution of political power, political candidates choose policy platforms that they intend to enact if elected, and legislators bargain to arrive at laws. Understanding political actors’ behavior is therefore essential for explaining economic outcomes. This thesis follows the tradition of the political economy literature and considers the effect of institutional rules on the behavior of three types of political actors: voters, candidates, and negotiators. It does so by combining insights from game-theoretic models and controlled laboratory experiments. Specifically, this thesis analyzes voter behavior in mandatory and voluntary voting regimes; investigates how candidate behavior differs between plurality voting and proportional representation as well as what role coalition governments play in this context; and explores bargaining behavior in asymmetric environments