Young versus old politicians and public spending priorities

Thushyanthan Baskaran, Zohal Hessami and Sebastian Schirner

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024, vol. 225, issue C, 88-106

Abstract: Do young politicians prioritize other types of municipal spending than old politicians? We study this question using hand-collected candidate-level data on municipal elections (1996–2020), along with detailed administrative data on municipal spending in Bavaria. Our identification strategy makes use of within-party candidate-level races for marginal seats. Our findings indicate that municipalities with a higher proportion of young councilors allocate more resources to social spending. Further analysis reveals that this social spending increase is primarily driven by the expansion of public child care. Exploring mechanisms, we find evidence suggesting that young councilors affect policy choices indirectly through between- and within-party bargaining.

Keywords: Young and old politicians; Political selection; Municipal spending; Local councils (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D78 H70 H72 J13 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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:eee:jeborg:v:225:y:2024:i:c:p:88-106

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.07.002

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