"In this study I explain why economic voting is so widespread and, yet, why incumbents so often win amidst economic downturns and challengers in boom times. I account for the fact that some candidates drastically outperform the predictions of economic voting models while others underperform....

Why do the rich and poor support different parties in some places? We argue that voting along class lines is more likely to occur where states can tax the income and assets of the wealthy. In low bureaucratic capacity states, the rich are less likely to participate in electoral politics because...