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Does Voluntary Voting Enhance Partisan Bias? Evidence from Chile
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2021
Abstract
Although partisan bias – when an authority transfers discretionary public resources to a politically aligned receiver − has been extensively studied, less is known about how this practice is affected by the voting regime − compulsory or voluntary voting. In this article, I study partisan bias in Chile, using administrative data of transfers from the central authority to local governments, highlighting two relevant scope conditions: the electoral cycle, and electoral uncertainty caused by the adoption of voluntary voting. I found strong evidence of partisan bias, especially in election years and in electorally riskier municipalities. This suggests that the uncertainty introduced by this electoral reform induced politicians to allocate a large share of resources to risky municipalities, because such resources would play a more significant role in the electoral outcome. Overall, these results imply that voluntary voting has a large impact on the way that resources are allocated across subnational units.
Spanish abstract
Aunque el favoritismo político – cuando una autoridad transfiere recursos públicos de forma discrecional a un receptor políticamente alineado − ha sido estudiado extensamente, se sabe menos acerca de cómo esta práctica se ve afectada por el régimen de votación, ya sea éste obligatorio o voluntario. En este artículo, estudio el favoritismo político en Chile, utilizando datos administrativos de transferencias de recursos desde la autoridad central a los gobiernos locales, subrayando dos condiciones relevantes: el ciclo electoral, y la incertidumbre electoral causada por la adopción del voto voluntario. Encontré fuertes evidencias de favoritismo político, especialmente en años electorales y en municipalidades electoralmente riesgosas. Esto sugiere que la incertidumbre introducida por esta reforma electoral indujo a los políticos a ubicar una gran cantidad de recursos a municipalidades en riesgo debido a que habrían de jugar un papel más significativo en el resultado electoral. Por encima de todo, estos resultados implican que el voto voluntario tiene un gran impacto en la forma en que los recursos son ubicados a lo largo de las unidades subnacionales.
Portuguese abstract
Embora o favorecimento político-partidário – quando uma autoridade transfere recursos públicos discricionários para um partido alinhado politicamente – tenha sido amplamente estudado, pouco se sabe sobre como essa prática é afetada pelo regime eleitoral – voto obrigatório ou facultativo. Neste artigo, estudo o viés partidário no Chile, usando dados administrativos referentes à transferência de recursos da autoridade central para os governos locais, destacando duas condições de escopo relevantes: o ciclo eleitoral, e a incerteza eleitoral causada pela adoção do voto voluntário. Encontrei fortes evidências de parcialidade partidária, especialmente em anos eleitorais e em municípios eleitoralmente mais imprevisíveis. Os dados sugerem que a incerteza trazida pela reforma eleitoral induziu os políticos a alocar uma grande parcela de recursos em municípios de risco, pois tais recursos teriam um papel mais significativo no resultado eleitoral. Em geral, o estudo aponta que o voto facultativo tem um grande impacto na maneira como os recursos são alocados nas unidades subnacionais.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
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40 Given that these two coalitions dominate Chilean politics, I use the term ‘aligned mayor’ to define a mayor from the same electoral coalition as the president, not necessarily from the same party. Consequently, partisan bias is a transfer from the central to local governments that favours aligned mayors.
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51 To test for a discontinuity in the forcing variable – for example, due to electoral fraud – I conducted a manipulation test based on the density discontinuity developed by Cattaneo, Jansson and Ma (Matias D. Cattaneo, Michael Janssen and Xinwei Ma, ‘Manipulation Testing Based on Density Discontinuity’, Stata Journal, 18: 1 (2018), pp. 234–61). I did not find evidence of fraud.
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