What politicians do not know can hurt you: the effects of information on politicians’ spending decisions

Jablonski, Ryan S. ORCID: 0000-0002-7344-6738 and Seim, Brigitte (2023) What politicians do not know can hurt you: the effects of information on politicians’ spending decisions. American Political Science Review. ISSN 1537-5943

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Abstract

Do well-informed politicians make more effective spending decisions? In experiments with 70% of all elected politicians in Malawi (N=460), we tested the effects of information on public spending. Specifically, we randomly provided information about school needs, foreign aid, and voting patterns prior to officials making real decisions about the allocation of spending. We show that these information interventions reduced inequalities in spending: treatment group politicians were more likely to spend in schools neglected by donors and in schools with greater need. Some information treatment effects were strongest in remote and less populated communities. These results suggest that information gaps partially explain inequalities in spending allocation and imply social welfare benefits from improving politicians' access to information about community needs.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-p...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	J Political Science
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2023 13:36
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 03:54
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120383

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