Vote buying

== Consequences ==
Scholars have linked several negative consequences to the practice of vote buying. The presence of vote buying in democratic states poses a threat to democracy itself, as it interferes with the ability to rely on a popular vote as a measure of people's support for potential governments' policies.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3982/ECTA9035 |title=Vote-Buying and Reciprocity |journal=Econometrica |volume=80 |issue=2 |page=863 |year=2012 |hdl=10419/55130 |url=http://www.esocialsciences.org/Download/repecDownload.aspx?fname=Document1342009124.088992E-02.pdf&fcategory=Articles&AId=1882&fref=repec |access-date=2019-11-07 |archive-date=2021-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115180712/http://www.esocialsciences.org/Download/repecDownload.aspx?qs=Uqn%2FrN48N8UOPcbSXUd2VFbDy%2FUp0X3sC4fMaWN6UML1IzEUSTKvVD5som6e9ApFwpu9DtakJIf4ZEgd1PAeaoH4XBm03jjfcgyzJ9YRtWQcNaXZrtLAUKhKNyCJfLa0xESzcro%2FTxRuI3uE1A9Gr+qc1++poKZW4LJM2kbCEZi3q4EILZwT1OcT1d9Uql6N0VAizHksc0pwXpGL5+ZeHQ%3D%3D |url-status=live |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, according to political scientist Eric Kramon, vote buying is not necessarily detrimental to the quality of democracy; rather, the relationship between vote buying and the quality of democracy is far more nuanced.<ref name=":0" />

Another noted consequence is that the autonomy of voters is undermined. Since getting paid or receiving rewards for their votes generates a form of income that they may need to support themselves or their families, they have no autonomy to cast the vote that they truly want.<ref name=Stokes2005 /> This is extremely problematic because if it is the most corrupt politicians who are engaging in vote buying, then it is their interests that remain the ones that dictate how the country is going to be run. This, in turn, perpetuates corruption in the system even further creating a cycle.

Thirdly, vote buying can create a dependency of voters on the income or goods that they are receiving for their votes, and can further perpetuate a type of [[poverty trap]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S1365100510000246 |title=Vote-Buying and Growth |journal=Macroeconomic Dynamics |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=656 |year=2011 |last1=Gersbach |first1=Hans |last2=Mühe |first2=Felix|hdl=20.500.11850/44212 |s2cid=232394350 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> If they are receiving medicine from their communities' broker for example, if this tie is cut off then they may no longer have access to this necessity. It can be true that the broker in that community has no interest or incentive to actually increase the standards of living of the community members, as it is very possible that they are only interested in getting whatever share of the profit they are entitled to for working for the party.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Javier |last1=Auyero |date=April 1999 |title='From the Client's Point(s) of View': How Poor People Perceive and Evaluate Political Clientelism |journal=Theory and Society |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=297–334 |jstor=3108473 |doi=10.1023/A:1006905214896 |s2cid=141606279}}</ref> Additionally, if the goods or money are coming directly from a candidate, this candidate's only wish is to maintain their power. That being said, they may provide services but their real interest may lie in keeping the voters dependent on the rewards they are providing in order to stay in power.