Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Alexander James Author-Name-First: Alexander Author-Name-Last: James Author-Email: alex.james@uaa.alaska.edu Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage Author-Name: Nathaly Rivera Author-Name-First: Nathaly Author-Name-Last: Rivera Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Chile Author-Name: Brock Smith Author-Name-First: Brock Author-Name-Last: Smith Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Economics and Economics, Montana State University Title: Cash Transfers and Voter Turnout Abstract: We estimate the effect of cash transfers on voter turnout, leveraging a large-scale natural experiment, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) program, which provides residents with a check of varying size one month before election day. We find that transfers cause people to vote, especially in gubernatorial elections in which a 10% increase in cash ($180) causes a 1.4 percentage point increase in turnout. Effects are concentrated among racial minorities, theÊyoung, and poor. There is little evidence that transfers reduce logistical costs of voting, but rather operate by reducing voter apathy among the low-income electorate. Creation-date: 2022-10 Number: 2022-01 Handle: RePEc:ala:wpaper:2022-01 File-URL: http://www.econpapers.uaa.alaska.edu/RePEC/ala/wpaper/ALA202201.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Classification-JEL: D72, H31, H70, I38 Keywords: Voter Turnout, Civic Engagement, Cash Transfers, Natural-Field Experiment, Democratic Institutions Publication-Status: