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Stimulating the Vote: ARRA Road Spending and Vote Share

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  • Emiliano Huet-Vaughn

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of public good spending on voting behavior in the United States, using a quasi-experimental design and the distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) road projects in New Jersey. I find an approximate 1.5 percentage point increase in Democratic Party presidential vote share in areas close to highway and bridge expenditures. I consider two alternative mechanisms: one, a salience mechanism whereby spending and associated "funded-by" signage affect political preferences; the other, a possible political multiplier effect whereby stimulus spending improves local economic outcomes, generating incumbent votes. Evidence is inconsistent with the later explanation.

Suggested Citation

  • Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, 2019. "Stimulating the Vote: ARRA Road Spending and Vote Share," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 292-316, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:11:y:2019:i:1:p:292-316
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170151
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    Cited by:

    1. Sha, Wenbiao, 2023. "The political impacts of land expropriation in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Su-Min & Alexandru, 2022. "Do Labels Polarise? Theory and Evidence from the Brexit Referendum," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2227, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    3. De Groote, Olivier & Gautier, Axel & Verboven, Frank, 2024. "The political economy of financing climate policy — Evidence from the solar PV subsidy programs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Ben Blemings & Margaret Bock, 2020. "Disamenity or a Signal of Competence? The Empirical Political Economy of Local Road Maintenance," Working Papers 20-07, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    5. Quiroz Flores, Alejandro & Pfaff, Katharina, 2021. "Private provision of public goods and political survival: Rail transport in four European democracies in the 20th century," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Matias Giaccobasso & Brad C. Nathan & Ricardo Perez-Truglia & Alejandro Zentner, 2022. "Where Do My Tax Dollars Go? Tax Morale Effects of Perceived Government Spending," NBER Working Papers 29789, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Felix Kersting, 2022. "Welfare Reform and Repression in an Autocracy: Bismarck and the Socialists," Working Papers 0227, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    8. Marco Di Cataldo & Elena Renzullo, 2024. "EU Money and Mayors: Does Cohesion Policy affect local electoral outcomes?," Working Papers 2024: 02, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    9. Savu, A., 2021. "The Local Political Economy of Austerity: Lessons from Hospital Closures in Romania," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2120, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    10. Margaret Bock & Benjamin Blemings, 2024. "Road maintenance over the local election cycle," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 198(1), pages 129-151, January.
    11. González, Felipe & Prem, Mounu, 2025. "Government Support in Times of Crisis: Transfers and the Road to Socialism," IZA Discussion Papers 17661, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Gonzalez, Felipe & Prem, Mounu, 2025. "Government Support in Times of Crisis: Transfers and the Road to Socialism," OSF Preprints vnz6d_v1, Center for Open Science.
    13. Mario F. Carillo, 2022. "Fascistville: Mussolini’s new towns and the persistence of neo-fascism," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 527-567, December.
    14. Víctor Mauricio Castañeda-Rodríguez & Gaetano Lisi, 2024. "Can public efficiency increase tax morale? Evidence from 18 Latin American countries," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 209-231, June.
    15. Lee, S-M., 2020. "Passing on the Baton: Positive Spillovers from the Olympics to Female Representation in US Politics," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2082, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning

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