Roger D. Congleton (George Mason University – Center for Study of Public Choice) has posted Voting By Altruists: Some Electoral Implications of Civic Virtue on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This paper examines some neglected implications of altruism in deterministic voting models in settings where voters differ in their altruistic propensities. Of particular interest is the extent to which relatively small groups of altruistic voters can affect electoral outcomes by simply casting votes. Ordinarily, in deterministic electoral models one expects small groups with "odd" policy preferences to have little impact on electoral outcomes. This paper demonstrates that relatively small groups of altruistic voters can have substantial effects on policies entirely determined by median voter preferences.
And a bit more from the conclusion of the paper:
The analysis of this paper has shown how civic virtue, interpreted as a circumscribed form of self-interested altruism, can have efficiency-enhancing and stabilizing effects on democratic political decision making within the context of the rational choice model of elections.17 The altruistic component of civic virtue—that is to say, consideration of the effects of policy on one’s fellow citizens as well as on one’s self—can depolarize the politics of redistribution. Increases in the number of altruistic voters shifts median voter electoral outcomes toward Pareto-efficient public service levels. Moreover, civic virtue or altruism does not have to be universal to produce such attractive consequences. In many policy areas, altruistic policy preferences can be median preferences even if held by only a minority of those eligible to vote.
Melzer and Richard (1981) have previously shown how the emergence of a middle class can stabilize democratic outcomes in cases where governments use imperfect tax instruments for redistribution. Their results demonstrate that the excess burden of tax instruments can assure both a safety net and stable property rights in democracy in which the middle class is sufficiently large. The present analysis demonstrates that civic virtue can play a complementary role by increasing support for such programs and by increasing the efficiency of public services. Whether altruistic voters are common or not, the analysis of this paper suggests that the altruistic component of civic virtue can play a significant role in making democratic societies more attractive places in which to live. Even a relatively small number of civil altruists can make a difference. 17
Very cool paper. Recommended.