Sierra Leone Electoral Rules Field Experiment Data

Field experimental evidence from Sierra Leone examines voter reactions to a switch from single-member plurality to multi-member closed-list proportional representation rules. The dataset contains results from a study finding exposure to the new rules increased women's commitment to voting and decreased support for particularistic campaign appeals. It was authored by Ahuja, Avi and published by the American Political Science Review Dataverse.

Use Cases

• Analyze the effect of electoral rule exposure on voter commitment metrics, such as women's voting behavior.
• Examine correlations between rule changes and shifts in support for particularistic versus programmatic campaign appeals.
• Study voter perceptions of politician accountability under different electoral systems in a clientelistic democracy context.
• Investigate gender-differentiated outcomes in political behavior following a switch to multi-member district proportional representation.

Strengths

• Data originates from a field experiment, providing causal inference potential for electoral rule effects.
• Focus on Sierra Leone expands the study of electoral rules' influence on voters into the Global South.
• Study examines both voter commitment and support for campaign appeal types, offering multiple behavioral dimensions.

Limitations

• Sample size and demographic breakdowns are unspecified, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Geographic focus is restricted to Sierra Leone, reducing generalizability to other political contexts.
• Specific variables, measurement scales, and experimental design details are not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

American Political Science Review Dataverse

Collection Method

Field experiment conducted around an electoral rule switch.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-23.

Geography

Sierra Leone