GLD would like to welcome you to our Spring 2025 Work-in-Progress Series. This series offers scholars from around the world an opportunity to present and receive feedback on their works in progress, including manuscripts, PAPs, conference papers, articles, etc. This series is virtual and open to anyone to attend; we look forward to seeing you there!
The Spring Work-in-Progress Series will be held on Zoom and in-person in Lilla Skansen at the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg. If you plan to attend virtually, please register at the link above - you only need to register once and you will have access to the whole series.
Sanho Chung, National Taiwan Normal University
Do voters tolerance for electoral clientelism (i.e., the exchange of favors for electoral support) vary by election levels? As the first attempt in clientelism scholarship, this study examines the question by focusing on two mechanisms: power and closeness. The former suggests that practices by lower-level officials, perceived as having limited power, are more accepted because of their seemingly trivial moral consequences. The latter posits that voters' greater perceived proximity to lower-level officials fosters assumptions of good intentions, even for questionable behaviors. Using two conjoint experiments simulating two levels of local elections in Taiwan, this study shows that tolerance for clientelism depends on election levels. The power mechanism is more evident in village chief (lower) elections, especially for procurement and vote buying, while the closeness mechanism is stronger in county magistrate (higher) elections. These findings contribute to the scholarship by highlighting how voter perceptions and election levels interact in shaping clientelism perception.
