Data and Code for: Fake News, Voter Overconfidence, and the Quality of Democratic Choice

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Melis Kartal, Vienna University of Economics and Business; Jean-Robert Tyran, University of Vienna

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  Code 07/09/2022 01:10:PM
  Sessions 06/02/2022 07:30:PM
  z-Tree programs 06/06/2022 07:45:AM
Codebook.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 9.9 KB 06/02/2022 03:49:PM
README.pdf application/pdf 906.9 KB 06/06/2022 03:39:AM

Project Citation: 

Kartal, Melis, and Tyran, Jean-Robert. Data and Code for: Fake News, Voter Overconfidence, and the Quality of Democratic Choice. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2022. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-09-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/E171882V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary
This deposit contains the data and code for the analyses reported in "Fake News, Voter Overconfidence, and the Quality of Democratic Choice."
Abstract: This paper studies, theoretically and experimentally, the effects of overconfidence and fake news on information aggregation and the quality of democratic choice in a common-interest setting. We theoretically show that overconfidence exacerbates the adverse effects of widespread misinformation (i.e., fake news). We then analyze richer models that allow for partisanship, targeted misinformation intended to sway public opinion, and news signals correlated across voters (due to media ownership concentration or censorship). In our experiment, overconfidence severely undermines information aggregation, suggesting that the effect of overconfidence can be much more pronounced at the collective than at the individual level.


Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources University of Vienna

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms [behavioral political economy; misinformation; , voting ; Dunning-Kruger effect; laboratory experiment; ]
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Austria
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 12/6/2017 – 11/18/2021
Collection Date(s):  View help for Collection Date(s) 12/6/2017 – 11/18/2021
Universe:  View help for Universe
Students
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) experimental data

Methodology

Response Rate:  View help for Response Rate We conducted 38 in-person sessions at the Vienna Center for Experimental Economics (VCEE) laboratory at the University of Vienna between December 2017 and November 2021 with a total of 684 subjects. All subjects who were registered finished the experiment.

Sampling:  View help for Sampling There are several thousands of subjects registered for experiments at VCEE each year. We randomly invited individuals from this sample.
Data Source:  View help for Data Source Laboratory experiments conducted at VCEE at the University of Vienna.
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Individuals

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2022-09-23]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.