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Do Political Parties Matter? Evidence from U.S. Cities

Fernando Ferreira and Joseph Gyourko

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2009, vol. 124, issue 1, 399-422

Abstract: Are cities as politically polarized as states and countries? “No” is the answer from our regression discontinuity design analysis, which shows that whether the mayor is a Democrat or a Republican does not affect the size of city government, the allocation of local public spending, or crime rates. However, there is a substantial incumbent effect for mayors. We investigate three mechanisms that could account for the striking lack of partisan impact at the local level, and find the most support for Tiebout competition among localities within metropolitan areas.

Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (254)

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Working Paper: Do Political Parties Matter? Evidence from U.S. Cities (2007) Downloads
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The Quarterly Journal of Economics is currently edited by Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan Nunn, Andrei Shleifer and Stefanie Stantcheva

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