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Poverty Reduction, Patronage, or Vote Buying? The Allocation of Public Goods and the 2001 Election in Madagascar

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  • Christine Moser

Abstract

This article uses data from Madagascar to examine how an upcoming election or political patronage might induce governments to deviate from goals such as poverty reduction. Using a nationwide, commune-level data set, the article tests three competing explanations of how public goods are allocated across districts. Projects can be allocated on the basis of local need with the goal of reducing poverty or rewarding one's political base, or the desire to win votes for an upcoming election. The evidence from an analysis of three projects suggests that two of the three projects responded to local needs and a third seemed to be influenced by both election and patronage concerns. An analysis of the 2001 presidential election in Madagascar shows that voters do appear to reward the incumbent for projects received in their districts. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

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  • Christine Moser, 2008. "Poverty Reduction, Patronage, or Vote Buying? The Allocation of Public Goods and the 2001 Election in Madagascar," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 137-162, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:57:y:2008:i:1:p:137-162
    DOI: 10.1086/590458
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    1. Acemoglu, Daron & Johnson, Simon & Robinson, James A., 2005. "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 385-472, Elsevier.
    2. Fan, Shenggen & Zhang, Linxiu & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2002. "Growth, inequality, and poverty in rural China: the role of public investments," Research reports 125, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
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    1. Andrés Cendales, 2012. "Vote Buying, Political Patronage and Selective Plunder," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 49(2), pages 237-276, November.
    2. Kaddachi, Hayet & Ben Zina, Naceur, 2022. "The impact of corruption on economic growth in Tunisia: application of ARDL approach," MPRA Paper 114869, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2022.
    3. Vidhya Unnikrishnan & Subhasish Dey, 2023. "Political meddling in social assistance programme: Panel data evidence from India," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1346-1364, August.
    4. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Hodler, Roland & Parks, Bradley C. & Raschky, Paul A. & Tierney, Michael J., 2019. "African leaders and the geography of China's foreign assistance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 44-71.
    5. Sheahan, Megan & Liu, Yanyan & Barrett, Christopher B. & Narayanan, Sudha, 2014. "The political economy of MGNREGS spending in Andhra Pradesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1371, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Dreher, Axel & Hodler, Roland & Fuchs, Andreas & Parks, Bradley C. & Raschky, Paul & Tierney, Michael, 2015. "Aid on Demand: African Leaders and the Geography of China's Foreign Assistance," CEPR Discussion Papers 10704, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Ehizuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi, 2016. "The Dragon's Goodwill: Examining China's External Finance and African Leaders' Preferentialism," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(03), pages 1-30, October.
    8. Chau, Nancy H. & Liu, Yanyan & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2017. "Political activism as a determinant of clientelistic transfers: Evidence from an Indian public works program:," IFPRI discussion papers 1700, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Kumar Das, Pranab & Kar, Saibal & Kayal, Madhumanti, 2011. "Religious Minorities and Provision of Public Goods: Evidence from Rural West Bengal," IZA Discussion Papers 6154, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Denis COGNEAU, 2012. "The Political Dimension Of Inequality During Economic Development," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 35, pages 11-36.
    11. Kaddachi, Hayet & Ben Zina, Naceur, 1998. "The impact of corruption on economic growth in Tunisia: application of ARDL approach," MPRA Paper 114867, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4302 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Barrett, Sam, 2014. "Subnational Climate Justice? Adaptation Finance Distribution and Climate Vulnerability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 130-142.
    14. Arcangelo Dimico, 2017. "Size Matters: The Effect of the Size of Ethnic Groups on Development," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(3), pages 291-318, June.
    15. Francken, Nathalie & Minten, Bart & Swinnen, Johan F.M., 2012. "The Political Economy of Relief Aid Allocation: Evidence from Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 486-500.
    16. Andrés Cendales & Jhon James Mora, 2014. "Precarious Democracies, Political Negotiation and Selective Predation," Documentos de Trabajo 12422, Universidad Católica de Colombia.

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