Do Anti-Poverty Programs Sway Voters? Experimental Evidence from Uganda
研究了乌干达青年机会计划对选民投票行为的影响，发现该计划并未增加对执政党的支持，反而略微增加了对反对党的投票和竞选活动。
Abstract High-impact policies may not lead to support for the political party that introduces them. In 2008, Uganda’s government encouraged groups of youth to submit proposals to start enterprises. Of 535 eligible groups, a random 265 received grants of nearly $400 per person. Prior work showed that after four years, the Youth Opportunities Program raised employment by 17% and earnings by 38%. Here we show that recipients were no more likely to support the ruling party in elections. Rather, recipients slightly increased campaigning and voting for the opposition. Potential mechanisms include program misattribution, group socialization, and financial independence freeing voters from transactional voting.