Stimulating the Vote: ARRA Road Spending and Vote Share

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of public good spending on voting behavior in the United States, using a quasi-experimental design and the distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) road projects in New Jersey. I find an approximate 1.5 percentage point increase in Democratic Party presidential vote share in areas close to highway and bridge expenditures. I consider two alternative mechanisms: one, a salience mechanism whereby spending and associated “funded-by” signage affect political preferences; the other, a possible political multiplier effect whereby stimulus spending improves local economic outcomes, generating incumbent votes. Evidence is inconsistent with the later explanation. (JEL D72, H41, H54, H76, R42)

Fascistville: Mussolini’s new towns and the persistence of neo-fascism

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The Political Economy of Financing Climate Policy -- Evidence from the Solar Pv Subsidy Programs

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“…For Flanders, additional information was collected on the government website www.energiesparen.be. It contains the reports of the VEA about the newly applicable 29 Source: https://www.energiesparen.be/overzicht-bandingfactor-zonnepanelen, consulted on 28/02/2020. 30 Source:…”

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