TY  - JOUR
AU  - Murphy,Kevin
AU  - Shleifer,Andrei
TI  - Persuasion in Politics
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10248
PY  - 2004
Y2  - January 2004
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10248
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10248.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Kevin M. Murphy
Booth School of Business
The University of Chicago
5807 S. Woodlawn Ave.
Chicago, IL  60637
Tel: 773/702-7280
Fax: 773/834-3554
E-Mail: murphy@chicagoBooth.edu

Andrei Shleifer
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Littauer Center M-9
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-5046
Fax: 617/496-1708
E-Mail: ashleifer@harvard.edu
AB  - We present a model of the creation of social networks, such as political parties, trade unions, religious coalitions, or political action committees, through discussion and mutual persuasion among their members. The key idea is that people are influenced by those inside their network, but not by those outside. Once created, networks can be  rented out' to politicians who seek votes and support for their initiatives and ideas, which may have little to do with network members' core beliefs. In this framework, political competition does not lead to convergence of party platforms to the views of the median voter. Rather, parties separate their messages and try to isolate their members to prevent personal influence from those in the opposition.
ER  -