本研究分析在2005年台北縣長選舉中，民眾是否以回顧性評價或是展望性評估來決定其投票對象。運用2006年「台灣選舉與民主化調查」的研究資料，分析民眾對於過去的家庭經濟情況、社會整體經濟狀況評價及施政表現；以及民眾對於未來家庭經濟、總體經濟狀況評估及主要政黨候選人展望性預期，是否影響其投票行為。 本研究發現：控制民眾的人口學背景以及其他政治態度之後，民眾認為過去整體經濟情況變差者，愈不傾向投給民進黨候選人。認為民進黨候選人愈具備執政能力者則愈傾向投給他。除此之外，民眾的政黨認同也具有重要的影響力。 從本研究的結果可以得知，民眾會運用理性的標準，判斷過過去總體經濟表現與未來哪位候選人較具執政能力而決定其投票對象。顯示執政者應該以總體經濟表現以及優秀的人才，才可以吸引選民持續的支持。 / In this Study, we employ individual-level survey data collected by ‘Taiwan’s Election and Democratization Study” in the 2005 Taipei Magistrate election to examine whether voters apply retrospective voting or prospective voting. We include variables such as personal well-being and national economics performance in the past ,candidate evaluation and expectations on future economic performance to see how these variables might affect their voting behavior. We demonstrate that, after controlling demographic variables and other political attitudes, when voters consider national economy is worse off, he/she voted against the incumbent party. However, voters give greater support to candidates of the incumbent party if he/she believes this candidate is competent to govern Taipei county. Additionally, party identification still exerts a powerful influence upon the individual vote decision. In the study, it is found that people decide their voting behavior is employ their rational calculations to examine sociotropic economic performance and candidate quality. Therefore, citizens are not fools, and the incumbent party has to realize the importance of governance and nominate qualified candidates to govern.

Essay 1: (with Henrik Jordahl and Panu Poutvaara) We present and test a theory of prospective and retrospective pocketbook voting. Focusing on two large reforms in Sweden, we establish a causal chain from policies to sizeable individual gains and losses and then to voting. The Social Democrats proposed budget cuts affecting parents with young children before the 1994 election, but made generous promises to the same group before the 1998 election. Since parents with older children were largely unaffected we use a difference-in-differences strategy for identification. We find clear evidence of prospective pocketbook voting. Voters respond to campaign promises but not to the later implementation of the reforms. / Essay 2: This essay presents a detailed analysis of voters' response to municipality and regional level unemployment and economic growth, in Swedish general elections from 1985 to 2002, using data on 284 municipalities and 9 regions. The preferred specification suggests that an increase in regional growth or a reduction in regional unemployment by one percentage point is associated with an increase in the support for the national government by about 0.6 and 1.0 percentage points. Changes in unemployment and growth at the municipality level seem to have muchsmaller effects on government support. / Essay 3: One prediction from cognitive dissonance theory is that the act of voting makes people more positive toward the party or candidate they have voted for. Following Mullainathan and Washington (2008), I test this prediction by using exogenous variation in turnout provided by the voting age restriction. I improve on previous studies by investigating political attitudes, measured just before elections, when they are highly predictive of voting. In contrast to earlier studies I find no effect of voting on political attitudes. This result holds for a variety of political attitudes and data from both Sweden and the United States. / Essay4: (with Niclas Berggren and Henrik Jordahl) We conduct an extensive robustness analysis of the relationship between trust and growth by investigating a later time period and a bigger sample than in previous studies. In addition to robustness tests that focus on model uncertainty, we systematize the investigation of outlier influence on the results by using the robust estimation technique Least Trimmed Squares. We find that when outliers (especially China) are removed, the trust-growth relationship is no longer robust. On average, the trust coefficient is half as large as in previous findings.