A recent study published in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy examines the link between the political participation of the young and fiscal policies in the United States.

The study does so by considering preregistration laws, which allow the young to register before being eligible to vote, as well as by considering state-level higher education expenditures, the type of spending for which the young presumably have the strongest preference.

After documenting that preregistration promotes youth enfranchisement, the study shows that preregistration shifts state government spending toward higher education. The empirical results suggest that a 1 percent increase in youth voter turnout generates a 0.77 percent increase in higher education spending.

These findings collectively suggest political responsiveness to the needs of the newly enfranchised constituency.

Read the full journal article:
Graziella Bertocchi, Arcangelo Dimico, Francesco Lancia and Alessia Russo. 2020. Youth Enfranchisement, Political Responsiveness, and Education Expenditure: Evidence from the US. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Vol. 12, Issue 3, August 2020.