The Determinants of Voter Turnout: Evidence from Norwegian Movers
- Event Type
- Seminar/Symposium
- Sponsor
- Department of Economics
- Location
- 317 David Kinley Hall
- Date
- Nov 12, 2025 2:00 - 3:20 pm
- Speaker
- Milena Djourelova (University of Southern California)
- econ@illinois.edu
- Views
- 50
- Originating Calendar
- Applied Microeconomics (SEMINARS)
Paper to be presented is joint work with Sebastian Ellingsen and Øystein Hernæs
Abstract: We study the sources of voter‐turnout variation using administrative data on the universe of eligible voters in Norway linked to socio-economic characteristics and residential histories. Exploiting movers across municipalities and neighborhoods, we separate individual, jurisdictional, and neighborhood determinants of turnout and quantify their relative contributions using an AKM-style variance decomposition. Moving to a neighborhood with 10 p.p. higher turnout raises individual turnout by about 1 p.p., with slightly larger effects for moves across jurisdictions. Yet place-based factors explain only a small share of turnout variation. These findings suggest that turnout is driven primarily by stable individual attributes rather than contextual or peer effects.