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National or political cake?

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Francois Maystadt
  • Muhammad Kabir Salihu

Abstract

Analysing the effect of opportunistic fiscal transfers on the electoral fortune of incumbent politicians can be very difficult due to problems of endogeneity. In this paper, we use oil windfalls as an exogenous variation in the political discretion an incumbent government can exert in rule-based transfers. Exploiting within-state variation between 2007 and 2015 in Nigeria, an increase in VAT transfers induced by higher oil windfalls is found to improve the electoral fortune of an incumbent government. Our results question the role of rule-based transfers as an efficient institutional arrangement in resource-abundant countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Francois Maystadt & Muhammad Kabir Salihu, 2015. "National or political cake?," Working Papers 100756558, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:lan:wpaper:100756558
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Thiemo Fetzer & Stephan Kyburz, 2024. "Cohesive Institutions and Political Violence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(1), pages 133-150, January.
    2. Abel Fumey, 2018. "Intergovernmental fiscal transfers and tactical political maneuverings: Evidence from Ghana’s District Assemblies Common Fund," WIDER Working Paper Series 031, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Abel Fumey, 2018. "Intergovernmental fiscal transfers and tactical political maneuverings: Evidence from Ghana's District Assemblies Common Fund," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-31, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergovernmental transfers; ruled-based transfers; political manipulation; fiscal federalism; Nigeria;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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