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Is There an Election Cycle in Public Employment? Separating Time Effects from Election Year Effects

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: Do governments increase public employment in election years? This article answers this question by using data from Sweden and Finland, two countries that are similar in many respects but in which local elections are held at different points in time. These facts make it possible for us to separate an election effect from other time effects. Our results indicate that there is a statistically significant election year effect in local public employment, a production factor that is highly visible in the welfare services provided by the local governments in the Scandinavian countries. The effect also seems to be economically significant; the municipalities employ 0.6 more full-time employees per 1000 capita in election years than in other years (which correspond to an increase by approximately 1%). (JEL codes: D72, H72, P16)

Source: CESifo Economic Studies

DOI: 10.1093/cesifo/ifr003

Authors: M. Dahlberg, E. Mork

Institutions: Uppsala University, Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

Language: English

Topic: Fiscal Policies and Political Economy

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2115762260