Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0


Author-Name: Massimo Bordignon
Author-X-Name-First: Massimo
Author-X-Name-Last: Bordignon
Author-Email: massimo.bordignon@unicatt.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore


Author-Name: Tommaso Colussi
Author-X-Name-First: Tommaso
Author-X-Name-Last: Colussi
Author-Email: tommaso.colussi@unicatt.it
Author-Workplace-Name: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Author-Workplace-Name: Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Author-Name: Francesco Porcelli
Author-X-Name-First: Francesco
Author-X-Name-Last: Porcelli

Title: Populists at work. Italian municipal finance under M5s governments.


Abstract: This paper empirically investigates the impact of populist governments on public policies
and finances. We focus on Italian local governments (i.e. municipalities) over the
2010-2019 period, when a populists, i.e. the Five Stars Movement, became the most voted
party in the country. We first document that the re-election probability of incumbent mayors
drops by half when they are populist. While populist mayors are not less qualified than
mainstream parties, they are significantly younger and less experienced. Estimates from a
stacked diff-in-diff design comparing early to not-yet treated municipalities show that the
populist government experience significantly worsen municipal finances. Populist mayors
also fail to promote social and environmental policies that align with the political demands
of their voters, possibly contributing to their difficulties in securing re-election. 
Length: 24
Creation-Date: 2024-02
File-URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/economia-finanza-def132.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2024
Number: def132
Classification-JEL: H70, H72, P43. 
Keywords: Populism, Local Governments, Fiscal Policy, Inequality.
Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie1:def132