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A dirty deed done dirt cheap: Reporting the blame of a national reform on local politicians

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  • Aurélie Cassette

    (EQUIPPE - Economie Quantitative, Intégration, Politiques Publiques et Econométrie - Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales - PRES Université Lille Nord de France - Université de Lille, Droit et Santé, LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Etienne Farvaque

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper tests the hypothesis that upper-level governments can transfer the accountability of the costs of a reform to a lower one. The reform of the school week in France provides the ground for a verification of the attribution of accountability hypothesis, as it was nationally decided and locally implemented, right before a municipal election. The results confirm that local incumbents have taken the blame of the reform, especially in larger cities. In this case, thus, the cost of the reform is borne twice by the lower level of government, financially and politically. So doing, the central government does a dirty deed to the local ones, for a very cheap cost. That mayors who have announced a boycott of the reform have received electoral gains confirms that some local politicians expected to be the fall guys, bearing the brunt of the costs of the reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Aurélie Cassette & Etienne Farvaque, 2016. "A dirty deed done dirt cheap: Reporting the blame of a national reform on local politicians," Post-Print hal-01526021, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01526021
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2016.04.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Aurélie Cassette & Etienne Farvaque, 2019. "Sticky decentralization? Evidence from the French school reform," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2019-03-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Reforms; Elections; Municipalities; School;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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