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Natural Disasters, Moral Hazard, and Special Interests in Congress

Author

Listed:
  • Ethan Kaplan
  • Jörg L. Spenkuch
  • Haishan Yuan

Abstract

We exploit the precise timing of natural disasters to provide empirical evidence on the connection between electoral accountability and politicians’ support for special interests. We show that, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, the evening news substantially reduce their coverage of politics. At the very same time, members of Congress become more likely to adopt the positions of special-interest donors as they vote on bills. Our findings are consistent with standard theories of political agency, according to which politicians are more inclined to serve special interests when, for exogenous reasons, they are less intensely monitored.

Suggested Citation

  • Ethan Kaplan & Jörg L. Spenkuch & Haishan Yuan, 2018. "Natural Disasters, Moral Hazard, and Special Interests in Congress," CESifo Working Paper Series 7408, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7408
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp7408.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Spenkuch, Jörg L., 2012. "Moral hazard and selection among the poor: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 72-85.
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    Cited by:

    1. Djourelova, Milena & Durante, Ruben, 2019. "Media Attention and Strategic Timing in Politics: Evidence from U.S. Presidential Executive Orders," CEPR Discussion Papers 13961, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Milena Djourelova & Ruben Durante, 2019. "Media Attention and Strategic Timing in Politics: Evidence from U.S. Presidential Executive Orders," Working Papers 1125, Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. Balles, Patrick & Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2023. "Television market size and political accountability in the U.S. House of Representatives," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Colin P. Green & Swarnodeep Homroy, 2022. "Incorporated in Westminster: Channels and Returns to Political Connection in the United Kingdom," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 377-408, April.
    5. Milena Djourelova & Ruben Durante, 2019. "Media attention and strategic timing in politics: Evidence from U.S. presidential executive orders," Economics Working Papers 1675, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

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    Keywords

    natural disasters; moral hazard; toll-call voting; special interests; Congress;
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