Social Fragmentation, Public Goods and Elections: Evidence from China∗
نویسندگان
چکیده
This study examines how the economic e ects of elections in rural China depend on voter heterogeneity, as captured by religious fractionalization. We rst document religious composition and the introduction of village-level elections for a nearly nationally representative sample of over two hundred villages. Then, we examine the interaction e ect of heterogeneity and the introduction of elections on village-government provision of public goods. The interaction e ect is robustly negative. We interpret this as evidence that voter heterogeneity constrains the potential bene ts of elections for public goods provision.
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