Conditional Election and Partisan Cycles in Government Support to the Agricultural Sector: An Empirical Analysis

We examine the effect of elections and government ideology on public funding to the agricultural sector using a panel model for more than 70 democratic countries from 1975-2009. We find that support for agriculture increases prior to elections, and that right-wing governments redistribute more income to the agricultural sector than left-wing governments. Political cycles are conditional on certain factors; for example, elections have a stronger effect on support under right-wing cabinets. Further, in industrialized countries, the election (partisan) effect is strongest under majoritarian (proportional) electoral systems. In developing countries, the election (partisan) effect is strongest under proportional (majoritarian) electoral systems. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.