Arbeitspapier

Just Hire your Spouse! Evidence from a Political Scandal in Bavaria

We investigate a case of political favoritism. Some members of the Bavarian parliament hired relatives as office employees who were paid using taxpayers' money. We examine whether being involved in the scandal influenced re-election prospects and voter turnout. The results do not show that being involved in the scandal influenced the outcome and voter turnout of the 2013 state elections. We propose three explanations: (i) the Bavarian state election was a test run for the German federal election; (ii) the state government made a quite good job of clarifying failings; (iii) in June 2013, a very heavy bout of flooding eclipsed the political scandal.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 4813

Classification
Wirtschaft
Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations: General
Relation of Economics to Social Values
Subject
political scandal
favoritism
nepotism
re-election prospects
voter turnout

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Kauder, Björn
Potrafke, Niklas
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
(where)
Munich
(when)
2014

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Kauder, Björn
  • Potrafke, Niklas
  • Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)

Time of origin

  • 2014

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