Brown Bag Seminar by Görkem Destan and Günnur Ege Bilgin

Abstract: The paper presents a theoretical model explaining why politicians adopt extreme policy positions, even in cases with homogeneous and moderate voters. We show that limited voter attention, drawn to distinctive policies, combined with candidates’ differing budget constraints, can lead to extremist platforms. Additionally, we examine how decoy candidates, despite having little electoral support, influence outcomes by altering issue salience. Experimental evidence based on a representative sample of Turkey further confirms that salience significantly shapes consumer preferences and election results.