More knowledgeable electorates secure more representative policy outcomes for everyone

Having an informed electorate is traditionally considered a necessary prerequisite for realizing participatory democracy, as this enables voters to make meaningful choices about who they elect and to hold officials accountable for their actions. But do more informed electorates lead to more favorable policy outcomes? In new research which uses state-level data, William P. Jaeger, Jeffrey Lyons, and Jennifer Wolak find that the strength of the correlation between voter ideology and policy outcomes does indeed increase as the electorate’s knowledge rises. They suggest that state elected officials are particularly responsive to well-informed electorates whilst in office.