Do politicians answer voters’ questions? An experiment controlling incentives of message, period, and medium

Abstract

This article presents the results of an experiment conducted between September 2014 and July 2015 to check the responsiveness of Brazilian congressmen to questions submitted by citizens under various conditions. A series of messages were sent over the period, controlling incentives. We tested three factors: a) the message content (potential voter versus a question on issues that are the subject of political debate); b) the period in which the message was sent (during or not during electoral campaigns); c) the platform through which the message was sent (email and social media). The logistic regression model shows: i) the election period does not have a significant influence; ii) incentives in message content increase tenfold the probability of receiving a response; iii) messages sent via social media increase nine times the probability of response. Overall, the response rate is very low, indicating the low responsiveness of Brazilian deputies. We discuss these results drawing on the theory of political incentives and the possibilities of accountability that have emerged with online political communication tools. We believe that the present research paves the way for future experimental approaches in this area.

experiment; legislation; interactivity; accountability; Facebook