Stimulating the Vote: ARRA Road Spending and Vote Share

Emiliano Huet-Vaughn

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2019, vol. 11, issue 1, 292-316

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-codes: D72 H41 H54 H76 R42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170151
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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