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

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  • Cassette, Aurélie
  • Farvaque, Etienne

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 rhythm in France provides the ground for a verification of this 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 and if they belong to the governing coalition. In this case, thus, the cost of the reform is borne twice by the lower level of government, financially and politically, offering a double gain to the government. That mayors who have announced a boycott of the reform have received electoral gains confirms the perception of the local cost of the reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Cassette, Aurélie & Farvaque, Etienne, 2015. "A dirty deed done dirt cheap: reporting the blame of a national reform on local politicians," MPRA Paper 67031, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:67031
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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; Reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • 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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