Research

Work in Progress

• “Should I Mail or Should I Go: Insights From a One-Time All-Postal Runoff Election” (with V. Lindlacher)
  (Latest Version)
  Abstract: We investigate how reducing information costs due to forced experimentation with postal voting affects voting behavior. Leveraging a natural experiment during the Bavarian 2020 Mayoral Elections, we employ an event study design. We find a transitory increase in total turnout and a persistent substitution from in-person to postal voting. Notably, municipalities with a higher turnout in the past show a larger effect. Investigating the distribution of the information costs shows an age gradient with the highest information costs for the oldest age group. The conservative governing party (CSU) gains persistently from higher postal turnout and other conservative parties’ in-person voters.

• “A Waiting Game: The Effect of Electoral Irregularities in the 2021 Berlin Elections on Voter Behavior”
  Abstract: I investigate the causal effects of administrative failures on voter turnout and choices, using irregularities in some precincts during the 2021 Berlin elections as a quasi-natural experiment. These elections were affected by significant disruptions, including widespread delays, incorrect and missing ballots, and long waiting times. Utilizing administrative data on the postal precinct level, I find that irregularities led to a 1.2 percentage-point decrease in voter turnout, with the effects persisting over three years and multiple elections. The negative impact was disproportionately larger among voters with migrant backgrounds. The analysis also reveals varied impacts depending on the type of irregularity. Additionally, the study highlights partisan consequences, with opposition parties, especially center-left parties, experiencing significant losses, while the governing party and right-wing populists were unaffected. The results suggest that preventing administrative failures could enhance voter turnout and participation, particularly among marginalized groups, thereby strengthening democratic integrity.

• “Polarizing the Polls: Candidate Ideology and Electoral Engagement” (with V. Lindlacher & K. Lehmann)
  [Conceptualization]

Policy Papers

• “Faktoren von Familiengründung, Kinderlosigkeit und Kinderreichtum in Ostdeutschland”
  (with K. Heisig and T. Scheurer), 2023, ifo Dresden Studie 89
• “Was Ersteltern von Personen ohne Kinder in Ostdeutschland unterscheidet”
  (with K. Heisig), 2023, ifo Dresden berichtet 31
• “Faktoren der Kinderlosigkeit in Ostdeutschland”
  (with K. Heisig and T. Scheurer), 2022, ifo Dresden berichtet 29