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The Retrenchment Hypothesis and the Extension of the Franchise in England and Wales

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Listed author(s):
  • Aidt, T.S.
  • Daunton, M.
  • Dutta, J.

Abstract

Does local democracy help or hinder the solution of collective action problems? We study this question in the context of public spending on health-related urban amenities in a panel of 75 municipal boroughs in England and Wales in 1868, 1871 and 1886. We .nd evidence of a U-shaped relationship between spending on urban amenities and the extension of the local voting franchise. We argue that this retrenchment e¤ect arose because middle class taxpayers were unwilling to pay the cost of poor sanitation and the urban elites, elected on a narrow franchise, were instrumental for sanitary improvements. Our model of taxpayer democracy suggests that the retrenchment e¤ect is related to forced enfranchisement of the middle class through nation-wide reforms.

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File URL: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/research/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe0818.pdf
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Paper provided by Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge in its series Cambridge Working Papers in Economics with number 0818.

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Length: 24
Date of creation: Apr 2008
Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:0818
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/index.htm

Keywords: Voting franchise; retrenchment; local public goods; sanitation.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
  • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
  • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
  • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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  15. Raghabendra Chattopadhyay & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(5), pages 1409-1443, 09.
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