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The Illicit Benefits of Local Party Alignment in National Elections
[Divided Government versus Incumbency Externality Effect: Quasi-Experimental Evidence on Multiple Voting Decisions,”]

Author

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  • Oana Borcan

Abstract

How do central politicians in young democracies secure electoral support at grassroots level? I show that alignment with local governments is instrumental in swaying national elections through, inter alia, electoral fraud. A regression discontinuity design with Romanian local elections and a president impeachment referendum in 2012 uncovers higher referendum turnouts in localities aligned with the government coalition—the impeachment initiators. Electoral forensics tests present abnormal vote count distributions across polling stations, consistent with ballot stuffing. The alignment effect, driven by rural localities, may explain the clientelistic government transfers found in this context and documented worldwide. (JEL D72, D73, H77)

Suggested Citation

  • Oana Borcan, 2020. "The Illicit Benefits of Local Party Alignment in National Elections [Divided Government versus Incumbency Externality Effect: Quasi-Experimental Evidence on Multiple Voting Decisions,”]," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(3), pages 461-494.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:36:y:2020:i:3:p:461-494.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ewaa005
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kammas, Pantelis & Poulima, Maria & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2023. "Fueling the party machine: Evidence from Greece during Metapolitefsi," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Christa N. Brunnschweiler & Samuel Kwabena Obeng, 2020. "Rewarding Allegiance: Political Alignment and Fiscal Outcomes in Local Government," University of East Anglia School of Economics Working Paper Series 2020-05, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    3. Diogo Baerlocher & Rodrigo Schneider, 2021. "Cold bacon: co-partisan politics in Brazil," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 161-182, October.

    More about this item

    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
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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