Transparency and electoral consequences

Abstract

Can voters hold politicians accountable when policies are implemented and information is disseminated with a considerable time lag? This paper focuses on prospective and retrospective evaluations of changes in the State Pension Age (SPA) in the United Kingdom. Combining secure-level panel data from two national household surveys with administrative data, and applying a difference in differences research design, I analyse the variation in political preferences before and after (a) the implementation of the policy and (b) the time when voters receive written notification of the policy change (15 years later). I find that in the immediate aftermath of the reform, affected voters became more disillusioned with politics and slightly more more empathetic towards smaller parties. Surprisingly, the notification treatment has no effect on political preferences although there are still some weak effects on political disillusionment. The findings are of particular relevance to understanding how policy-makers communicate with the public and how the public responds to policies that have long-term implications.