The expressive theory of voting needs more specification of the motives for expression if it is not merely to be a theory of non-instrumental voting. Brennan and Hamlin (1998) provide such a specification. Unfortunately, using individual U.S. data from the General Social Surveys we find their...

Political behavior generates private benefits by helping people fit in with desired friends. A voter imitates other voters but at the same time they imitate him. An equilibrium solution requires exogenous variables: the narrow self-interest of the participants. The reduced form makes one's vote...