Gridlock: Ethnic Diversity in Government and the Provision of Public Goods
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 9,
no. 1, February 2017
(pp. 112-36)
Abstract
How does ethnic diversity in government impact public good provision? We construct a novel dataset linking the ethnicity of California city council candidates to election outcomes and expenditure decisions. Using a regression discontinuity approach, we find that increased diversity on the council leads to less spending on public goods. This is especially true in cities with high segregation and economic inequality. Those serving on councils that experience an increase in diversity also receive fewer votes when they run for reelection. These results point towards disagreement within the council generating lower spending.Citation
Beach, Brian, and Daniel B. Jones. 2017. "Gridlock: Ethnic Diversity in Government and the Provision of Public Goods." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9 (1): 112-36. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20150394Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- H41 Public Goods
- H70 State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations: General
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
- R51 Finance in Urban and Rural Economies
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