Cash Assistance Policies, Mass Consumption Behavior, and Policy Feedback Mechanisms in Mexico

ABSTRACT This article examines whether the effects of cash assistance policies (CAPs) on electoral behavior are mediated by consumption behavior in the mass public. I present a mass consumption feedback model that distinguishes between a mobilization pathway (i.e., traditional resource effects arguments) and a new persuasion pathway for mass policy feedback. Utilizing a randomized field experiment design and causal mediation analysis, I analyze the effects of CAPs on mass consumption behavior and subsequent electoral behavior in Mexico. The results strongly suggest that CAPs affect mass consumption behavior in the short term, and that mass consumption mediates the effects of CAPs on incumbent party support (at one election level) in the medium term. The findings have important implications for future studies on mass policy feedback.