Police Militarization and Local Elections

Christos Mavridis, Orestis Troumpounis and Maurizio Zanardi
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Christos Mavridis: Middlesex University London
Orestis Troumpounis: University of Padova and Lancaster University

No 221, School of Economics Discussion Papers from School of Economics, University of Surrey

Abstract: US local law enforcement agencies have been receiving substantial military equipment through the “1033 Program" during the last decades. Sheriffs, one of the agencies requesting such transfers, are directly accountable to voters for their actions, so one may wonder: how do military equipment transfers in a given county affect the re-election prospects of the county's sheriff? We construct a unique dataset on local electoral races covering 6,218 sheriff elections in 2,381 counties between 2006 and 2016 and reveal the causal effect of military transfers on sheriffs' re-election probabilities: an increase in military transfers in a given county (from none to the median value) results in an increase in the probability the county's sheriff is re-elected (by 3:6 to 9:9 percentage points). This result explains sheriffs' strong support for the “1033 Program" and suggests that the image of a “tough" sheriff in town seems to be rewarded, overall providing fresh evidence on voters' responsiveness in local office elections.

JEL-codes: D72 H56 H76 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2021-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-law, nep-pol and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sur:surrec:0221

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