Political entrepreneurs and pork-barrel spending

Artikel

Pork-barrel spending is the use of federal money for localized projects that yield only a narrow geographic benefit. It is a commonly held belief that politicians use this spending to improve their chances of re-election. One way that an incumbent can increase their chances of re-election is through increased fundraising. Political entrepreneurs see this opportunity and attempt to benefit from these projects in exchange for campaign contributions. This paper investigates whether incumbents are able to use their position to bolster their campaign contributions. I find pork-barrel spending and political contributions to be positively related, but this effect is only present when the incumbent properly times the project. I also find that general federal appropriations do not have the same impact. This supports the claim that pork-barrel spending can be used as a currency in the marketplace for political capital.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Journal: Economies ; ISSN: 2227-7099 ; Volume: 7 ; Year: 2019 ; Issue: 1 ; Pages: 1-17 ; Basel: MDPI

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior ; National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General
• Thema: pork-barrel spending ; campaign finance ; incumbency advantage ; elections

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Klingensmith, J. Zachary
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): MDPI
• (wo): Basel
• (wann): 2019

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: doi:10.3390/economies7010016
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/256948
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:45 MEZ