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Cash for Votes: Evidence from India

Anirban Mitra & Shabana Mitra

Economic Development and Cultural Change2025https://doi.org/10.1086/735574article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.40

Abstract

We examine consumption patterns around the time of elections to investigate vote-buying. Specifically, we combine data from state assembly elections in India with household-level consumer expenditure and employment surveys (conducted by the National Sample Survey Office) over the period 2004–12. Exploiting a difference-in-differences methodology, we estimate the positive effect elections have on reported consumption expenditures. We observe larger effects in swing areas but null effects for the poor. The total wage payments for the same period cannot justify the consumption spikes. Our results shed light on the mechanisms behind strategic vote-buying.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/735574

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@article{anirban2025,
  title        = {{Cash for Votes: Evidence from India}},
  author       = {Anirban Mitra & Shabana Mitra},
  journal      = {Economic Development and Cultural Change},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/735574},
}

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Cash for Votes: Evidence from India

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Evidence weight

0.40

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.