Scholars concur that conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have a strong proincumbent effect among beneficiaries. Although no study has properly focused on the overall effect of cash transfers on incumbents' national vote shares, most scholars have deduced that this effect is positive; i.e., that cash transfers lead to the expansion of incumbents' electoral bases. This article analyzes survey data from nearly all Latin American countries and confirms that beneficiaries of CCT programs are more likely to support incumbents. However, it also shows that CCT programs may induce many voters who were previously incumbent supporters to vote for the opposition. As a consequence, the overall impact of cash transfers on incumbents' vote shares is indeterminate; it depends on the balance between both patterns of behavioral changes among voters. This study is the first to report evidence that cash transfer programs may have significant anti‐incumbent effects.
Introdução 1Desde o fim da ditadura militar, o Brasil realizou sete eleições presidenciais e teve chefes de governo de quatro partidos diferentes. O candidato do partido governista ganhou ou disputou o segundo turno nas cinco últimas eleições (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
Nos últimos quinze anos, programas de transferência de renda condicionada (TRC), isto é, programas que transferem renda para famílias pobres e impõem condicionalidades relacionadas à saúde e educação dos beneficiários, se disseminaram pela América Latina. Estudos recentes mostram que esses programas geram dividendos eleitorais entre os pobres e, consequentemente, ajudam presidentes a se reeleger. Neste artigo, eu mostro que a probabilidade de reeleição de presidentes não aumenta com investimentos em programas de TRC. Mais importante, minhas análises demonstram que, na maioria dos países da região, perdas e ganhos eleitorais estão associados à quantidade de famílias beneficiadas. Presidentes que investiram nesses programas perderam votos nas áreas mais desenvolvidas e ganharam votos nas áreas pobres de seus países.
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