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My (running) mate, the mayor: Political ties and access to public sector jobs in Ecuador

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  • Brassiolo, Pablo
  • Estrada, Ricardo
  • Fajardo, Gustavo

Abstract

We show that local politicians' probability of being employed by a municipality increases when they have a strong party connection to its mayor. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare the employment outcomes of individuals connected to the winner vis-à-vis those connected to the runner-up in close mayoral races in Ecuador. Among candidates to local councils who lose their bid, the probability of getting a job in the municipality increases tenfold when their own party's mayoral nominee is elected. The effect is very strong for low-ranking positions, which suggests that it is the result of political patronage. Three additional results shed light on where patronage is more likely to emerge. First, the effect is stronger in poorer municipalities, where public sector jobs are more valuable. Second, benefits go largely to politicians better positioned within the party structure. Third, the effect is concentrated among younger mayors, who have a longer career ahead of them to capitalize clientelist arrangements.

Suggested Citation

  • Brassiolo, Pablo & Estrada, Ricardo & Fajardo, Gustavo, 2020. "My (running) mate, the mayor: Political ties and access to public sector jobs in Ecuador," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:191:y:2020:i:c:s004727272030150x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104286
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    Cited by:

    1. Jörg L. Spenkuch & Edoardo Teso & Guo Xu, 2023. "Ideology and Performance in Public Organizations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(4), pages 1171-1203, July.
    2. Callen, Michael & Gulzar, Saad & Hasanain, Ali & Khan, Muhammad Yasir & Rezaee, Arman, 2023. "The political economy of public sector absence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    3. Pablo Brassiolo & Ricardo Estrada Martinez & Gustavo Fajardo & Julian Martinez-Correa, 2021. "Family Rules: Nepotism in the Mexican Judiciary," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4443, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    4. Pedro Forquesato, 2022. "Who Benefits from Political Connections in Brazilian Municipalities," Papers 2204.09450, arXiv.org.
    5. Luisa Schneider & Daniela Wech & Matthias Wrede, 2022. "Political alignment and project funding," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1561-1589, December.
    6. Barbosa, Klenio & Ferreira, Fernando, 2023. "Occupy government: Democracy and the dynamics of personnel decisions and public finances," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bureaucracy; Close elections; Patronage; Public sector employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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