Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Pages: 409-425

Journal: The Review of Economics and Statistics

Volume number: 102

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 0034-6535

eISSN: 1530-9142

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00820

Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press

Abstract: 
We report robust evidence of a new short-run monetary election cycle: the monthly growth rate of the money supply (M1) around elections is higher than in other months in a sample of low- and middle-income countries. We hypothesize this is related to systemic vote buying. Consistent with this, we find no cycle in authoritarian countries and countries with strong political institutions and a pronounced cycle in elections where international election monitors reported vote buying or in close elections. Using survey data on daily consumer expenditures, we show that within-household consumption of food increases in the days before elections.

Harvard Citation style: Aidt, T., Asatryan, Z., Badalyan, L. and Heinemann, F. (2020) Vote Buying or (Political) Business (Cycles) as Usual?, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 102(3), pp. 409-425. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00820

APA Citation style: Aidt, T., Asatryan, Z., Badalyan, L., & Heinemann, F. (2020). Vote Buying or (Political) Business (Cycles) as Usual?. The Review of Economics and Statistics. 102(3), 409-425. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00820