Political Referendum Research Articles

Memory, Mourning, and the Chilean Constitution

The present paper investigates and provides an account of the feeling of grief evidenced in certain sectors of the Chilean population after the electoral defeat following the constitutional plebiscite of September 2022 in Chile. How can one experience grief at the rejection of a political referendum? We suggest that the experience of grief is importantly related to a loss of life possibilities and disruptions in one’s practical identity. The outpouring of grief experienced by many Chileans at this political loss can be traced to the importance of the constitutional plebiscite for their identities. The grieving process involves a renegotiation, through memory and future oriented imagination, of past, present, and future aspects of one’s practical identity.

The More Sophisticated, the More Biased? Testing a New Measure of Political Sophistication on Biased Information Processing

Abstract According to literature, biased information processing increases with political sophistication. The logic behind this relationship is that political sophisticates possess greater cognitive skills and knowledge to defend their prior beliefs. Although political sophistication can be understood as a multidimensional concept, existing research primarily uses general political knowledge as a proxy to assess it. Therefore, we introduce a more rigorous measure of sophistication that gauges individuals’ ability to justify their attitudes with substantive and well-elaborated arguments and put the classic measure of political sophistication to a test. We study these mechanisms in a direct-democratic setting via an online survey, in which 898 Swiss-German voters are exposed to a tailored counterargument on a political referendum. Our results indicate that individuals with higher levels of sophistication evaluate counter-attitudinal information less favorably and hold more stable opinions. While we did not find support for the hypothesis that sophistication leads to selective exposure to consonant information, our analysis points to a reverse mechanism: individuals with lower levels of sophistication exhibit a higher likelihood of exposure to dissonant views. Notably, these results align with the trends reported for general political knowledge and corroborate the validity of using general political knowledge as a proxy for political sophistication.

Political referenda and investment: Evidence from Scotland

We present evidence that referenda have a significant, detrimental outcome on investment. Employing an unsupervised machine learning algorithm over the period 2008-2017, we construct three important uncertainty indices underlying reports in the Scottish news media: Scottish independence (IndyRef)-related uncertainty; Brexit-related uncertainty; and Scottish policy-related uncertainty. Examining the relationship of these indices with investment on a longitudinal panel of 3,589 Scottish firms, the evidence suggests that Brexit-related uncertainty associates more strongly than IndyRef-related uncertainty to investment. Our preferred specification suggests that a one standard-deviation increase in Brexit uncertainty foreshadows a reduction in investment by 8% on average in the following year. Besides we find that the uncertainty associated with the Scottish referendum for independence while negligible at the aggregate level, relates more strongly with the investment of listed firms as well as those operating on the border with England. In addition, we present evidence of greater sensitivity to these indices among firms that are financially constrained or whose investment is to a greater degree irreversible.

The United States of America and the Iraqi identity crisis after 2003

The referendum is a mechanism whereby people can give their opinion on the public issues whether on the constitutional, legal or political issues. However, the referendums can be held by the executive or legislative powers or by the president of the state through a constitutional text. Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) conducted a referendum on 25 September 2017 by an overwhelming majority vote of roughly 93.25 percent in favour of Kurdistan secession. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate which sort of referendums exercised by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the constitutionality of the Kurdistan region referendum from the perspective of the Iraqi Constitution. The paper discovers information from secondary sources to cross-examine opinions and reach conclusions. It is concluded that the referendum in the Kurdistan region was a political referendum, therefore its constitutionality can be assumed that imposing the right of self-governance as a law cannot establish a State; it can only occur with the endorsement of the mother State, through a constitutional structure. At the other side, the question of the referendum's constitutionality is essentially a matter of legal controversy, which goes further than the facts of the constitutional framework.

#FlavorsSaveLives: An Analysis of Twitter Posts Opposing Flavored E-cigarette Bans

Starting in 2019 policies restricting the availability of flavored e-cigarette products were proposed or implemented in the United States to curb vaping by youth. People took to Twitter to voice their opposition, referencing the phrase "Flavors Save Lives." This study documented the emerging themes pertaining to "Flavors Saves Lives" over a 12-month period. The study period was from May 1, 2019, to May 1, 2020. A stratified sampling procedure supplied 2500 tweets for analysis. Posts were classified by one or more of the following themes: (1) Political Referendum; (2) Institutional Distrust; (3) Individual Rights; (4) Misinformation; (5) THC Vaping is the Real Problem; (6) Smoking Cessation; (7) Adult Use; and (8) Not a Bot. The temporal pattern of tweets over the year was examined. Political Referendum (76.5%) and Institutional Distrust (31.3%) were the most prominent themes, followed by Not a Bot (11.0%), Individual Rights (10.4%), Adult Use (8.0%), Smoking Cessation (6.6%), Misinformation (5.9%), and THC Vaping is the Real Problem (3.5%). Total tweet frequencies increased in September 2019 and peaked in November 2019 before returning to relatively low numbers. Political Referendum and Institutional Distrust were consistently the most prevalent themes over time. Twitter posts with the phrase "Flavors Save Lives" commonly discussed voting against political incumbents and mentioned distrust of government representatives. Findings demonstrated the possibility of near real-time Twitter monitoring of public opposition to flavor bans. These data may be valuable for designing tobacco control information campaigns in the future. (a) Starting in 2019 policies restricting the availability of flavored e-cigarette products were proposed or implemented in the United States to curb vaping by youth. (b) This study content analyzed Twitter posts with the phrase "Flavors Save Lives" from a 12-month period to understand opposition to flavor restrictions. (c) Twitter posts commonly discussed voting against political incumbents and mentioned distrust of government representatives. (d) Findings demonstrated the possibility of near real-time Twitter monitoring of public opposition to flavor bans, and contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of different sub-population's responses to current and proposed tobacco control information policies.

Political Referenda and Investment: Evidence From Scotland

We present evidence that referenda have a significant, detrimental outcome on investment. Employing an unsupervised machine learning algorithm over the period 2008-2017, we construct three important uncertainty indices underlying reports in the Scottish news media: Scottish independence (IndyRef)-related uncertainty; Brexit-related uncertainty; and Scottish policy-related uncertainty. Examining the relationship of these indices with investment on a longitudinal panel of 3,589 Scottish firms, the evidence suggests that Brexit-related uncertainty associates more strongly than IndyRef -related uncertainty to investment. Our preferred specification suggests that a one standard-deviation increase in Brexit uncertainty foreshadows a reduction in investment by 8% on average in the following year. Besides we find that the uncertainty associated with the Scottish referendum for independence while negligible at the aggregate level, relates more strongly with the investment of listed firms as well as those operating on the border with England. In addition, we present evidence of greater sensitivity to these indices among firms that are financially constrained or whose investment is to a greater degree irreversible. JEL Classification: C80, D80, E22, E66, G18, G31

Political Referenda and Investment: Evidence from Scotland

We present evidence that referenda have a significant, detrimental outcome on investment. Employing an unsupervised machine learning algorithm over the period 2008-2017, we construct three important uncertainty indices underlying reports in the Scottish news media: Scottish independence (IndyRef)-related uncertainty; Brexit-related uncertainty; and Scottish policy-related uncertainty. Examining the relationship of these indices with investment on a longitudinal panel of 3,589 Scottish firms, the evidence suggests that Brexit-related uncertainty associates more strongly than IndyRef -related uncertainty to investment. Our preferred specification suggests that a one standard-deviation increase in Brexit uncertainty foreshadows a reduction in investment by 8% on average in the following year. Besides we find that the uncertainty associated with the Scottish referendum for independence while negligible at the aggregate level, relates more strongly with the investment of listed firms as well as those operating on the border with England. In addition, we present evidence of greater sensitivity to these indices among firms that are financially constrained or whose investment is to a greater degree irreversible.

Is the Ethiopian Federalism in Trouble?

Ethiopia is a country of a cultural and linguistic mosaic. Paradoxically, the political and bureaucratic system of the country has failed to accommodate the ethnolinguistic and religious diversity of the society. The Ethiopian monarchical system and the military dictatorial government have had pursued a policy of national unity and territorial integrity of the state often at the expense of ethno-linguistic and religious diversity. In effect, the different ethnic and religious groups had suffered from domination and injustice. This has led to the birth of ethno-nationalist movements taking arms against the strong central government demanding selfadministration. In 1991 the ethno-nationalist forces led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have won the battle against the military government which led to the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. However, since its inception, there has been a widespread disagreement among Ethiopian political groups, scholars and even the public at large about the origin, structure and function of the federal system and its constitution. This particular paper aims at critically analysing the risks associated with the Ethiopian federal system in light of Ronald Watts’s six principles of federalism: disposition to democratic procedures; non-centralization as a principle; checks and balances to limit the concentration of political power; open political bargaining for making collective decisions; genuine group power-sharing within central institutions, often consociational and respect for constitutionalism and the rule of law while using literature and document analysis as data collection procedure and research methodology. In effect, secondary data sources have been reviewed including various types of relevant books, journal articles, government and non-governmental reports, government implementation plans and progress reports and lastly they have been carefully scrutinized and analysed to secure their reliability, suitability and adequacy. Finally, even though the aforementioned principles are embedded in the Constitution, the paper has found out that the government has practically failed to implement them. Consequently, the federal system in Ethiopia is mainly regulated by the policies of the ruling party rather than by the merits of the Constitution. In effect, the country is facing a multifaceted crisis and the federal system and its constitution are under imminent threats. In the end, the paper recommends that under the present scenario, the situation necessitates the government to carry out a deep structural and system reform focusing on the political and economic imbalances that are observable in the coalition ruling party and among the different ethnic groups in the country. Furthermore, since there is a widespread disagreement about the origin and development of the federal system and its constitution among different groups in and outside the country, holding a national reconciliation and political referendum on the federal system and its constitution is fundamental to fix ethnic driven conflicts and political instability in the country.

Political Referenda and Investment: Evidence From Scotland

Political Referenda and Investment: Evidence From Scotland

BIRGing, CORFing, and Twitter Activity Following a Political Referendum: Examining Social Media Activity Concerning the 2014 Scottish Independence Vote

A sizable body of research has examined BIRG, or Basking in Reflected Glory, as the psychological process of associating with the successes of others. A sample of 253,188 tweets related to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum were collected leading up to and following the vote. Results support BIRG processes on the part of anti-independence tweeters, and Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORF) responses by those favoring independence. Evidence does not support the notion that CORF was attenuated by high involvement.

The Value of Managing Urban Solid Waste: Evidence from Enugu State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Empirical findings of a contingent valuation method survey conducted in Enugu State, Nigeria, from July to September 2003, to elicit from urban residents monetary values placed on improved solid waste management facilities. Two formats were used in the study: a referendum design that mimics a typical political referendum and a stochastic payment card design, which incorporates uncertainty into an individual's valuation of an environmental quality improvement. Results indicate that the traditional referendum design produced a lower mean willingness to pay.