Political sophistication and vote in Brazil

• Grant number: 15/01413-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Fernando de Magalhães Papaterra Limongi
• Grantee: Maurício Yoshida Izumi
• Supervisor: Sebastian M. Saiegh
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/24210-4 - Government and voters in Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

According to spatial theory of voting (Downs, 1957), voters will cast their votes for the candidate whose policy position is the closest to their own views. However, to do that, they require some abilities. First, voters should be able to place themselves on an ideological scale. And, most important, they should be able to estimate the candidates' position on that scale. In other words, the model requires political sophistication from voters. The aim of this research will be assess the impact of political sophistication on vote in Brazil. (AU)