Just hire your spouse! : evidence from a political scandal in Bavaria

We investigate a case of political favoritism. Some members of the Bavarian parliament hired relatives as office employees who were paid using taxpayers' money. The family scandal was a hot issue in the German media because of the upcoming state and federal elections. We examine whether being involved in the scandal influenced re-election prospects and voter turnout. The results do not show that being involved in the scandal influenced the outcome and voter turnout of the 2013 state elections. Voters did not appear to punish the incumbent government because the reigning CSU endorses Bavarian identity and managed to overcome the family scandal, as the CSU already managed to overcome previous scandals.