All Eyes on Them: A Field Experiment on Citizen Oversight and Electoral Integrity

Abstract

Can information and communication technologies help citizens monitor their elections? We analyze a large-scale field experiment designed to answer this question in Colombia. We leveraged Facebook advertisements sent to over 4 million potential voters to encourage citizen reporting of electoral irregularities. We also cross-randomized whether candidates were informed about the campaign in a subset of municipalities. Total reports, and evidence-backed ones, experienced a large increase. Across a wide array of measures, electoral irregularities decreased. Finally, the reporting campaign reduced the vote share of candidates dependent on irregularities. This light-touch intervention is more cost-effective than monitoring efforts traditionally used by policymakers. (JEL C93, D12, D72, D83, O17)

The many faces of social media in business and economics research: Taking stock of the literature and looking into the future

“…Beneficial effects of social media have also been found for reducing corruption (Enikolopov et al., 2018; Jha & Sarangi, 2017), reducing electoral irregularities (Garbiras‐Diaz & Montenegro, 2022), enhancing the alignment between democratic representatives and their constituents (Mousavi & Gu, 2019), gathering community intelligence to cope with social crises (Oh et al., 2013), and intensifying political competition and thereby reducing the barriers to entering politics (Petrova et al., 2021). Former US President Donald Trump's heavy Twitter activity provided researchers with the opportunity to study the effect of presidential Tweets on economic outcomes.…”

Digital technology, citizens’ engagement and electoral corruption in Colombia

“…My analysis is built on primary sources and on existing research, including a field experiment by Garbiras-Díaz and Montenegro (2022). It is also informed by interviews with individuals working in the MOE and in Colombia's main electoral organisations (Colombia's National Civil Registry and National Electoral Council) and by my own experience working as an electoral observer in Colombia.…”

Digital Media and Grassroots Anti-Corruption

“…My analysis is built on primary sources and on existing research, including a field experiment by Garbiras-Díaz and Montenegro (2022). It is also informed by interviews with individuals working in the MOE and in Colombia's main electoral organisations (Colombia's National Civil Registry and National Electoral Council) and by my own experience working as an electoral observer in Colombia.…”