A Swing and a Miss: A Study in Distributive Electoral Politics

This study focuses on the distributive politics of presidential elections. Specifically, I research whether there is an economic advantage to being a swing state. Current literature on the subject supports the idea that money flows into swing states during presidential election years because of the Electoral College. My findings proved inconclusive; most likely because of limitations in the data available. The study found no correlation between a state’s level of competitiveness and its economic performance during an election year. Variables could be included to improve the robustness, particularly a focus on the advantage associated with primary election importance.