Pre-electoral fiscal policies and opportunistic spending: the case of the recently decentralised Macedonian local governments

The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between local elections and local government budgets. Using dataset of all Macedonian municipalities for the period 2007-2015, this study examines whether the overall spending and the composition of local government expenditures are systematicall...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:East European politics 2023-07, Vol.39 (3), p.369-390
Main Author: Andonoska, Ljubinka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Budgets
Decentralization
Democracy
expenditures
generalised method of moments
Government spending
Local elections
Local government
Manipulation
opportunistic spending
political budget cycle
Subsidies
Temporary employment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between local elections and local government budgets. Using dataset of all Macedonian municipalities for the period 2007-2015, this study examines whether the overall spending and the composition of local government expenditures are systematically manipulated just before elections. The results show that spending during the pre-election period shifts toward more desirable categories such as permanent and temporary employment, capital projects, and individual transfers and subsidies. Very few studies relate pre-electoral fiscal manipulation to clientelistic linkages. This paper fills the void by adding empirical evidence from a transitional democracy.
ISSN:2159-9165
2159-9173
DOI:10.1080/21599165.2022.2122043