Crossing party lines: The effects of information on redistributive politics

Type Journal Article - The American Economic Review
Title Crossing party lines: The effects of information on redistributive politics
Author(s)
Volume 105
Issue 8
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
Page numbers 2410-2448
URL https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/publication-pdf/CPL_Casey_24Feb2015.pdf
Abstract
Many lament that weak accountability and poor governance impede economic development
in Africa. Politicians rely on ethnic allegiances that deliver the vote irrespective of performance,
dampening electoral incentives. Giving voters information about candidate competence counters
ethnic loyalty and strengthens accountability. I extend a canonical electoral model to show how
information provision áows through voter behavior and ultimately impacts the distribution of political
spending. I test the theory on data from Sierra Leone using decentralization and di§erential
radio coverage to identify informationís e§ects. Estimates suggest that information increases voting
across ethnic-party lines and induces a more equitable allocation of campaign spending.

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