Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina

Fil: Malament, Miriam. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina.

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Autor principal: Malament, Miriam
Otros Autores: Rossi, Martín A.
Formato: Tesis Tesis de maestría updatedVersion
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía 2025
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.udesa.edu.ar/handle/10908/25709
Aporte de:
Repositorio Digital - Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSa) de Universidad de San Andrés
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spelling I37-R143-10908-257092025-09-16T03:00:20Z Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina Malament, Miriam Rossi, Martín A. Fil: Malament, Miriam. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina. Do symbolic penalties work? This paper provides causal evidence that even minimal, unenforced legal sanctions can influence civic behavior. I study a 2012 reform in Argentina that introduced optional voting for 16- to 17-year-olds, while voting from age 18 remained compulsory and formally subject to a small, unindexed fine of 50 pesos. Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data from 15 national elections between 2015 and 2023, I find that turnout increases by about 20 percentage points at age 18, despite negligible enforcement. Complementary evidence from national survey data suggests this effect reflects expressive compliance: symbolic penalties act as normative signals, activating a sense of civic duty rather than deterring through material sanctions. The response is especially pronounced among lower-income and lower-education youth. These findings offer rare causal evidence that symbolic penalties can shape civic behavior by appealing to internalized civic norms rather than fear of punishment. 2025-09-15T17:32:57Z 2025-09-15T17:32:57Z 2025-06 Tesis info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis info:ar-repo/semantics/tesis de maestría info:eu-repo/semantics/updatedVersion https://repositorio.udesa.edu.ar/handle/10908/25709 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf application/pdf Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía
institution Universidad de San Andrés
institution_str I-37
repository_str R-143
collection Repositorio Digital - Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSa)
language Inglés
description Fil: Malament, Miriam. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina.
author2 Rossi, Martín A.
author_facet Rossi, Martín A.
Malament, Miriam
format Tesis
Tesis de maestría
Tesis de maestría
updatedVersion
author Malament, Miriam
spellingShingle Malament, Miriam
Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
author_sort Malament, Miriam
title Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
title_short Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
title_full Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
title_fullStr Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
title_full_unstemmed Do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in Argentina
title_sort do symbolic penalties work? : evidence from compulsory voting laws in argentina
publisher Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía
publishDate 2025
url https://repositorio.udesa.edu.ar/handle/10908/25709
work_keys_str_mv AT malamentmiriam dosymbolicpenaltiesworkevidencefromcompulsoryvotinglawsinargentina
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