Integration and voter participation: Evidence from local governments in France

Edoardo Di Porto, Angela Parenti () and Sonia Paty
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Angela Parenti: University of Pisa, Via Ridolfi 10, 56124 Pisa, Italy

No 2409, Working Papers from Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon

Abstract: We study the causal impact of integration on electoral participation, based on the French experience of intermunicipal cooperation (2001-2018) in which integrated municipalities transfer certain responsibilities and fiscal revenues from the lower municipal level to the higher intermunicipal level. Using a discontinuity design analysis with an exogenous population-based rule, we find that voter turnout for municipal elections decreases significantly within newly highly integrated communities. A supplementary event study analysis shows that these municipalities face a significant decrease in fiscal revenues for about two years after the decision to cooperate. These results suggest that when less is at stake, in terms of responsibilities and fiscal revenues in highly integrated municipalities, citizens feel less involved and electoral participation decreases. Furthermore, exploiting a 2014 electoral reform, this loss in participation is found to be long-lasting.

Keywords: Decentralization; integration; electoral participation; fiscal revenues; cooperation; quasi-natural experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H2 H3 H7 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-pol and nep-ure
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https://www.gate.cnrs.fr/RePEc/2024/2409.pdf (application/pdf)

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Working Paper: Integration and voter participation: Evidence from local governments in France (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gat:wpaper:2409

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