Varieties of clientelism and poverty: evidence from a comparative subnational analysis of Romania

George Stefan, Anca Paraschiv and Clara Volintiru

Post-Communist Economies, 2025, vol. 37, issue 8, 1172-1191

Abstract: Poverty is considered a key predictor of clientelism. Using the Spearman correlation, we test this relationship in a subnational comparison in Romania, using a dataset comprising of both original survey data (4316 respondents from urban and rural areas, applied in January–March 2021), as well as new economic indicators. We assess various dimensions of poverty, as well as both positive and negative dimensions of clientelistic linkages. We contribute to the literature by highlighting an important differentiation between poverty dimensions: labour market opportunities and general welfare exhibit a stronger negative correlation with clientelistic transactions than economic growth, income inequality, or public expenditures. These findings enable a theoretical reconsideration of the specific dimensions of poverty that increase the permeability of clientelistic political strategies, moving away from simple income taxonomies to more sophisticated conceptualisations of economic opportunity and local development.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:pocoec:v:37:y:2025:i:8:p:1172-1191

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DOI: 10.1080/14631377.2025.2577133

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