Graphic detail | Red giveaway

What drives people to vote the way they do?

A new study using data on charity donations highlights the role of moral values

Understanding how voters choose a candidate is a fundamental topic in political science. In an ideal democracy, voters would study policy manifestos and pick the slate that most closely matches their views. Reality, however, is messier.

This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline “Red giveaway”

Chart source: “Universalism and political representation”, by B. Enke et al., NBER working paper

From the August 19th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Graphic detail

A short history of Syria, in maps

The most influential people, groups and events that shaped Syria’s role in the Middle East

Is Javier Milei’s economic gamble working?

Inflation has plunged in Argentina, but some vital goods have soared in price


How to make sense of 2024’s wild temperatures

Our climate team highlight four charts and two maps


What New York’s congestion charge could teach the rest of America

Lighter traffic in some parts of the city is a promising start. Will it continue?

The secret to one of Europe’s best-performing stockmarkets

Its economy is mired in gloom, but its stock exchange is the envy of Europe

Drones spotted on America’s east coast highlight a bigger problem

Unidentified objects can be dangerous, but not in the ways you might think