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Reapportionment and Redistribution: Consequences of Electoral Reform in Japan

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  • Yusaku Horiuchi
  • Jun Saito

Abstract

Does reapportionment in a legislature affect policy outcomes? We examine this question from a comparative perspective by focusing on reapportionment associated with the electoral reform in Japan. First, we show that the reform of 1994 resulted in an unprecedented degree of equalization in legislative representation. Second, using municipal‐level data, we present evidence that municipalities in overrepresented districts received significantly more subsidies per capita, as compared to those in underrepresented districts, in both prereform and postreform years. Third, by examining the relationship between the change in the number of seats per capita and the change in the amount of subsidies per capita at the municipal level, we show that the equalization in voting strength resulted in an equalization of total transfers per person.

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  • Yusaku Horiuchi & Jun Saito, 2003. "Reapportionment and Redistribution: Consequences of Electoral Reform in Japan," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(4), pages 669-682, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:47:y:2003:i:4:p:669-682
    DOI: 10.1111/1540-5907.00047
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    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Hangtian & Zhou, Yiming, 2019. "Public housing provision and housing vacancies in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Ulubasoglu, Mehmet Ali & Yaraşır-Tülümce, Sevinç, 2019. "Pork and Turkey: Distributive Politics in the Allocation of Public Investments into Turkish Electoral Districts 1987–2004," MPRA Paper 96842, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ursula Daxecker, 2020. "Unequal votes, unequal violence: Malapportionment and election violence in India," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(1), pages 156-170, January.
    4. Valentino Larcinese & Leonzio Rizzo & Cecilia Testa, 2013. "Why Do Small States Receive More Federal Money? U.S. Senate Representation and the Allocation of Federal Budget," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 257-282, November.
    5. Daiji Kawaguchi & Fumio Ohtake & Keiko Tamada, 2005. "The Productivity of Public Capital: Evidence from the 1994 Electoral Reform of Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0627, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    6. Halse, Askill H., 2016. "More for everyone: The effect of local interests on spending on infrastructure," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 41-56.
    7. Imai, Masami, 2022. "Local economic impacts of legislative malapportionment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    8. Sebastian Galiani & Iván Torre & Gustavo Torrens, 2016. "Fiscal Federalism and Legislative Malapportionment: Causal Evidence from Independent but Related Natural Experiments," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 133-159, March.
    9. Yasushi Asako & Takeshi Iida & Tetsuya Matsubayashi & Michiko Ueda, 2014. "Dynastic Politicians: Theory and Evidence from Japan," Working Papers 1412, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    10. Martin Ardanaz & Carlos Scartascini, 2011. "Why Don’t We Tax the Rich? Inequality, Legislative Malapportionment, and Personal Income Taxation around the World," Research Department Publications 4724, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    11. Jean Pierre TRANCHANT & Grégoire ROTA-GRAZIOSI & Léandre BASSOLE & Jean-Louis ARCAND, 2006. "The Making of a (vice-) President: Party Politics, Ethnicity, Village Loyalty and Community-Driven Development," Working Papers 200633, CERDI.
    12. Markus Reischmann, 2016. "Empirical Studies on Public Debt and Fiscal Transfers," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 63.
    13. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Ohtake, Fumio & Tamada, Keiko, 2009. "The productivity of public capital: Evidence from Japan's 1994 electoral reform," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 332-343, September.
    14. Tiberiu Dragu & Jonathan Rodden, 2010. "Representation and regional redistribution in federations," Working Papers 2010/16, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    15. Tiberiu Dragu & Jonathan Rodden, 2010. "Representation and regional redistribution in federations," Working Papers 2010/16, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    16. Golden, M. & Picci, L., 2007. "Pork Barrel Politics in Postwar Italy, 1953–1994," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0767, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    17. Megumi Naoi & Ellis Krauss, 2009. "Who Lobbies Whom? Special Interest Politics under Alternative Electoral Systems," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 874-892, October.
    18. Nicola Maaser & Stefan Napel, 2007. "Equal representation in two-tier voting systems," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 28(3), pages 401-420, April.
    19. Kauder, Björn & Björn, Kauder & Niklas, Potrafke & Markus, Reischmann, 2016. "Do politicians gratify core supporters? Evidence from a discretionary grant program," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145509, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    20. Taeko Hiroi, 2019. "Paradox of Redistribution: Legislative Overrepresentation and Regional Development in Brazil," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 49(4), pages 642-670.
    21. Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Reischmann, Markus, 2016. "Do politicians reward core supporters? Evidence from a discretionary grant program," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 39-56.
    22. Yusaku Horichi & Jun Saito, 2009. "Rain, ElectionS and MOney : The impact of voter turnout on distributive policy outcomes in japan," Governance Working Papers 22875, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.

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