Voter Turnout Effects of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend

• In Event: 4322 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Democracy and Democratization

Abstract

The present study addresses the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend – a unique earnings distribution program tied to a sovereign wealth fund – and its effects on civic engagement. In particular, I take advantage of the random variation in universal annual dividend payments to ascertain whether the size of the dividend in a given year is associated with deviations in voter turnout in national elections by Alaska residents. Using state-level voter turnout data, I find that higher dividends cause higher voter turnout, on the magnitude of 0.76 percentage points per $100 change. Investigating this relationship on individual-level data from the Current Population Survey, I find that the overall result is replicated, and heterogeneous effects are revealed. There is evidence that American Indians and Alaska Natives, fifteen percent of the state population, do not see an increase in voter turnout as a result of the dividend. Theories for these differences are explored and future research is proposed.

Author

• Sarah Reibstein, Princeton University