Do People Vote on the Basis of Minimax Regret?
- 1 December 1995
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Political Research Quarterly
- Vol. 48 (4) , 827-836
- https://doi.org/10.1177/106591299504800408
Abstract
Rational choice theory has yet to provide a satisfactory explanation of voter turnout. One such account, minimax regret, is analyzed using data from a survey involving students at two Canadian universities during the 1993 Canadian federal election campaign. While the minimax regret hypothesis is supported at the bivariate level, it fails to pass a multivariate test in which other components of the calculus of voting are included. Minimax regret appears to be little more than a rationalization on the part of those having a strong sense of duty to vote.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Rational Choice and TurnoutAmerican Journal of Political Science, 1993
- “Sophisticated” Voting in the 1988 Presidential PrimariesAmerican Political Science Review, 1992
- An Empirical Examination of the Minimax HypothesisAmerican Politics Quarterly, 1989
- Closeness, Expenditures, and Turnout in the 1982 U.S. House ElectionsAmerican Political Science Review, 1989
- Closeness Counts Only in Horseshoes and DancingAmerican Political Science Review, 1975
- The Paradox of Minimax RegretAmerican Political Science Review, 1975
- Is Minimax Regret Applicable to Voting Decisions?American Political Science Review, 1975
- The Paradox of Not Voting: CommentAmerican Political Science Review, 1975
- The Paradox of Not Voting: A Decision Theoretic AnalysisAmerican Political Science Review, 1974
- A Theory of the Calculus of VotingAmerican Political Science Review, 1968