2026/04/09 by Ann‐Kristin Kölln · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Game Theory and Voting Systems #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/01402382.2026.2647190
Voters’ trust in political parties is vital because of parties’ central role in democracies. Despite widespread voter distrust in parties, the causes and parties’ role remain unclear. This article identifies for the first time which types of party performance have the potential to affect trustworthiness. It argues that a party’s pledge record and its procedural transparency provide informational performance cues that shape trustworthiness because they send signals of ability and integrity. Survey experimental results show that the informational effects of a party’s good and bad performance can affect voters’ trust levels by between 7 and 26 percentage points, and they may at least be partially explained by perceptions of a party’s ability and integrity. Additional analyses show that voters trade off different party performances and that the main effects also replicate in the real world. These findings have important implications for literatures on parties, voters, and representative democracy.