Back to Search
Start Over
Natural disasters and clientelism: The case of floods and landslides in Colombia.
- Source :
-
Electoral Studies . Oct2018, Vol. 55, p73-88. 16p. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Abstract What are the effects of natural disasters on electoral results? Some authors claim that catastrophes have a negative effect on the survival of leaders in a democracy because voters have a propensity to punish politicians for not preventing or poorly handling a crisis. In contrast, this paper finds that these events might favor incumbents. Disasters are linked to leader survival through clientelism: they generate an in-flow of resources in the form of aid, which increases money for buying votes. Analyzing the rainy season of 2010–2011 in Colombia, considered its worst disaster in history, I use a difference-in-differences strategy to show that in the local election incumbent parties benefited from the disaster. The result is robust in regard to different specifications and alternative explanations. Moreover, I present evidence that goes against other common explanations found in the literature and that goes in line with the clientelism mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 02613794
- Volume :
- 55
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Electoral Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 131730414
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2018.08.001