Political Science and Political Economy Research Seminar
The Politics of Attention
Andrea Mattozzi (Harvard), joint with Pietro Ortoleva (Princeton)
Tuesday 28 January 2025 14:00 - 15:30
Many of our seminars and public events this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events. Please check our website listings and Twitter feed @STICERD_LSE for updates.
Unless otherwise specified, in-person seminars are open to the public. Please ensure you have informed the event contact as early as possible.
Those unable to join the seminars in-person are welcome to participate via zoom if the event is hybrid.
About this event
We study a model in which political parties can increase the importance of specific policy issues. Voters have ideal positions in a multidimensional policy space and give different weights to various issues. Two political parties compete both in choosing policy positions and manipulating the weight of each issue. This competition severely alters political interactions. First, it typically increases the divergence among voters and between policy positions. Second, under symmetry, in equilibrium each party selects a distinct dimension to align closer with voters and emphasize in electoral campaigns while maintaining divergent positions on all other dimensions. The model also predicts a newcomer advantage and significant effects from increasing the ability to target advertising.
The Political Science and Political Economy (PSPE) research group at the LSE brings together faculty and PhD students who do quantitative and/or formal research on political institutions, political behaviour, public policy, and political economy.
The PSPE Research Seminar provides a venue for researchers (mostly from outside of the LSE) to present their work.
These seminars are held on Tuesdays in term time at 14.00-15.30, both ONLINE AND IN PERSON in room SAL 3.05, unless specified otherwise.
Seminar coordinators: Aliz Toth, Carl Muller Crepon and Nirvikar Jassal
Contact gov.comms@lse.ac.uk to be added to the mailing list and to recieve the zoom link.
For further information please contact Maddie Giles: gov.comms@lse.ac.uk.