| ID | 158487 |
| Title Proper | Public employees as politicians |
| Other Title Information | evidence from Close Elections |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | ARI HYYTINEN ; Hyytinen, Ari ; Meriläinen, Jaakko ; Saarimaa, Tuukka ; TOIVANEN , OTTO |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | We analyze the effect of municipal employees’ political representation in municipal councils on local public spending. We use within-party, as-good-as-random variation in close elections in the Finnish open-list proportional election system to quantify the effect. One more councilor employed by the public sector increases spending by about 1%. The effect comes largely through the largest party and is specific to the employment sector of the municipal employee. The results are consistent with public employees having an information advantage over other politicians, and thus, being able to influence policy. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 112, No.1; Feb 2018: p.68-81 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review 2018-01 112, 1 |
| Key Words | Politicians ; Public Employees ; Evidence from Close Elections |