Politics and Local Economic Growth: Evidence from India
利用印度数据，通过接近选举断点回归设计，发现执政党议员带来的政治偏袒显著提高了当地私营部门就业、企业股价和夜间灯光亮度，且影响主要通过监管执行实现。
Political favoritism affects the allocation of government resources, but is it consequential for growth? Using a close election regression discontinuity design and data from India, we measure the local economic impact of being represented by a politician in the ruling party. Favoritism leads to higher private sector employment, higher share prices of firms, and increased output as measured by night lights; the three effects are similar and economically substantive. Finally, we present evidence that politicians influence firms primarily through control over the implementation of regulation.