Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Jan, 2025, Volume 93, Issue 1

The Political Economy of Zero-Sum Thinking

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA22474
p. 41-70

S. Nageeb Ali|Maximilian Mihm|Lucas Siga

This paper offers a strategic rationale for zero‐sum thinking in elections. We show that asymmetric information and distributional considerations together make voters wary of policies supported by others. This force impels a majority of voters to support policies contrary to their preferences and information. Our analysis identifies and interprets a form of “adverse correlation” that is necessary and sufficient for zero‐sum thinking to prevail in equilibrium.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "The Political Economy of Zero-Sum Thinking"

S. Nageeb Ali, Maximilian Mihm, and Lucas Siga

The Supplemental Appendix contains all arguments, notation, and proofs for Sections 4 and 5 of Ali et al. (2024).

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