title: Voting suffrage and the political budget cycle: Evidence from the London Metropolitan Boroughs 1902-1937.
abstract: We study the opportunistic political budget cycle in the London Metropolitan Boroughs between 1902 and 1937 under two different suffrage regimes: taxpayer suffrage (1902-1914) and universal suffrage (1921-1937). We argue and find supporting evidence that the political budget cycle operates differently under the two types of suffrage. Taxpayer suffrage, where the right to vote and the obligation to pay local taxes are linked, encourages demands for retrenchment and the political budget cycle manifests itself in election year tax cuts and savings on administration costs. Universal suffrage, where all adult residents can vote irrespective of their taxpayer status, creates demands for productive public services and the political budget cycle manifests itself in election year hikes in capital spending and a reduction in current spending.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Economics, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Toke S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Aidt
authors.affiliation: Institute of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1900 East Monument St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mooney
keywords: Local public finance; London; Opportunistic political budget cycles; Suffrage; Voting franchise
references.citation: J Health Econ. 2010 Dec;29(6):797-810
references.pmid: 20832880