Floods, terrorist attacks and the covid-19 pandemic: How the (de)centralization of power affects the rally around the flag

Ignacio Lago and André Blais

No 2208, Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization from Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network

Abstract: This article examines whether rally effects when an unexpected calamity occurs are affected by the degree of (de)centralization of power. We argue that when the national government is exclusively in charge of the policy affected by the calamity, the rally should be comparatively greater than when the responsibility is shared between several levels of government. The argument is tested using observational data from national legislative and presidential elections after 423 major floods, 226 terrorist attacks and 61 pandemic elections. We find that it is only in centralized countries that incumbent governments perform better under a more severe pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Elections; Floods; Rally; Terrorist Attack. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H11 H23 H77 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2022-12
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http://infogen.webs.uvigo.es/WP/WP2208.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gov:wpaper:2208

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