DP6768 Effective Political Contests

Author(s):	Todd Kaplan, Aner Sela
Publication Date:	April 2008
Keyword(s):	All-pay auctions, Contests, Entry costs
JEL(s):	D44, O31, O33
Programme Areas:	Industrial Organization
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=6768

We study two-stage political contests with private entry costs. We show that these political contests could be ineffective, namely, the chance of low ability candidates participating in the contest might be higher than the chance of high ability candidates participating in the contest (and winning). However, by imposing a costly requirement (fee) on the winner of the contest, one can guarantee that the contest will be effective.