The Political Economy of Portuguese Intergovernmental Grants

NIPE Working Paper No. 8/2005

31 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2005

See all articles by Linda G. Veiga

Linda G. Veiga

University of Minho - Economic Policies Research Unit (NIPE)

Maria Pinho

Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Economia (FEP)

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

We use a large and unexplored dataset covering all mainland Portuguese municipalities from 1979 to 2002 to evaluate the impact of political forces in the allocation of grants from the central government to local authorities. Empirical results clearly show that, besides variables that proxy local populations' needs and the macroeconomic situation of the country, political variables condition the granting system: (1) grants increase in municipal and legislative election years; (2) the larger the number of years a mayor has been in office, the larger the amount of funds transferred to his/her municipality. These effects are particularly strong for grants that are not formula-determined.

Keywords: grants, intergovernmental relations, political economy, Portugal

JEL Classification: H77, H59, D72

Suggested Citation

Veiga, Linda G. and Pinho, Maria, The Political Economy of Portuguese Intergovernmental Grants (2005). NIPE Working Paper No. 8/2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=830104 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.830104

Linda G. Veiga (Contact Author)

University of Minho - Economic Policies Research Unit (NIPE) ( email )

Campus de Gualtar
Braga, P-4710-057
Portugal
+351-253604568 (Phone)
+351-253601380 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.eeg.uminho.pt/pt/_layouts/15/UMinho.PortaisUOEI.UI/Pages/userinfo.aspx?p=1814

Maria Pinho

Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Economia (FEP) ( email )

Rua Roberto Frias
s/n
Porto, 4200-464
Portugal
+351-225571100 (Phone)
+351-225505050 (Fax)

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