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Bringing Home the Bacon: An empirical analysis of the extent and effects of pork-barreling in Australian politics

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  • Andrew Leigh

Abstract

Which electorates receive targeted funding, and does targeted funding swing votes? To answer these questions, I analyze four discretionary programs funded by the Australian federal government during the 2001-2004 election cycle. Controlling for relevant demographic characteristics of the electorate, those electorates held by the governing coalition received a larger share of discretionary funding, and a larger number of program grants. Among government seats, funding does not appear to have been directed towards those that were more marginal. More discretionary funding – particularly on road-building – was associated with a larger swing towards the government in the 2004 election.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Leigh, 2008. "Bringing Home the Bacon: An empirical analysis of the extent and effects of pork-barreling in Australian politics," CEPR Discussion Papers 580, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:auu:dpaper:580
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    File URL: https://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/researchpapers/CEPR/DP580.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Guccio, Calogero & Mazza, Isidoro, 2014. "On the political determinants of the allocation of funds to heritage authorities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 18-38.
    5. Peter Spáč, 2021. "Pork barrel politics and electoral returns at the local level," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 479-501, September.
    6. Cinnirella, Francesco & Schueler, Ruth, 2018. "Nation building: The role of central spending in education," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 18-39.
    7. Leigh, Andrew & Neill, Christine, 2011. "Can national infrastructure spending reduce local unemployment? Evidence from an Australian roads program," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 150-153.
    8. Muraközy, Balázs & Telegdy, Álmos, 2016. "Political incentives and state subsidy allocation: Evidence from Hungarian municipalities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 324-344.
    9. Ulubasoglu, Mehmet Ali & Yaraşır-Tülümce, Sevinç, 2019. "Pork and Turkey: Distributive Politics in the Allocation of Public Investments into Turkish Electoral Districts 1987–2004," MPRA Paper 96842, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Monica Nagpal & Michael A. Kortt & Brian Dollery, 2013. "Bang for the Buck? An Evaluation of the Roads to Recovery Program," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 239-248, June.
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    12. Nicola Persico & José C. R. Pueblita & Dan Silverman, 2011. "Factions and Political Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(2), pages 242-288.
    13. Alizadeh, Tooran & Farid, Reza, 2017. "Political economy of telecommunication infrastructure: An investigation of the National Broadband Network early rollout and pork barrel politics in Australia," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 242-252.
    14. Leonardo Bonilla-Mejía & Iván Higuera-Mendieta, 2017. "Political Alignment in the Time of Weak Parties: Electoral Advantages and Subnational Transfers in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo Sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 15746, Banco de la República, Economía Regional.
    15. Bianka Dettmer & Thomas Sauer, 2019. "Implementation of European Cohesion Policy at the sub‐national level: Evidence from beneficiary data in Eastern Germany," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(1), pages 167-189, February.
    16. John Considine & Justin Doran, 2016. "Evaluation of an informal rule for the allocation of sports capital funding," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 43-54, July.
    17. Elinder, Mikael & Jordahl, Henrik & Poutvaara, Panu, 2015. "Promises, policies and pocketbook voting," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 177-194.
    18. Zsófia Papp, 2019. "Votes, money can buy. The conditional effect of EU Structural Funds on government MPs’ electoral performance," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(4), pages 543-561, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    elections; local expenditure; voting; targeted funding; pork barreling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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