Electoral cycles in pork barrel politics: Evidence from South Korea 1989–2008

• Woo Chang Kang ^[1]
  1. [1] New York University

     New York University

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Electoral Studies: An international Journal, ISSN 0261-3794, Nº 38, 2015, págs. 46-58
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Despite strong theoretical claims that politicians should target distributive benefits to swing voters and competitive districts, the empirical evidence is mixed. This paper resolves the inconsistencies by focusing on the time-varying incentives of an incumbent government. To the extent that election-motivated behavior entails directing government resources to marginal voters and constituencies, this behavior can be expected to peak in the period just prior to an election. An analysis of subsidy allocation in South Korea provides evidentiary support for this claim. In general, more subsidies are allotted to incumbents' core municipalities; however, before legislative elections, municipalities with close legislative races receive greater share of subsidies.