Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/278973 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16275
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Staggered difference-in-differences designs are pervasive in policy evaluations but little is known about the mechanisms of policy diffusion: How and why do such policies spread across jurisdictions? In this study, we highlight the role of elections in policy diffusion in settings where municipal elections are asynchronous due to historical reasons. First, we empirically show the presence of policy diffusion using neighbors' election cycles as instruments for neighbors' policy adoption. Second, we further demonstrate interactions of municipalities' election cycles with neighbors' adoption and show that they follow neighbors' policy only during their own election timing, indicating that policy diffuses through elections.
Subjects: 
policy diffusion
elections
subsidy
child healthcare
political budget cycles
JEL: 
D04
D78
H73
H75
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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