We test the predictions of a behavioral model of transactional electoral politics in the context of a randomized anti-vote-selling intervention in the Philippines. We model selling one's vote as a temptation good: it creates positive utility for the future self at the moment of voting, but not...

We test the predictions of a behavioral model of transactional electoral politics in the context of a randomized anti-vote-selling intervention in the Philippines. We model selling one’s vote as a temptation good: it creates positive utility for the future self at the moment of voting, but not...

In this paper we map networks of family relationships among voters and political candidates covering one whole city in the Philippines to examine how familial networks serve as a source of electoral advantage. We rely on local naming conventions to asses blood and marriage links. Using these...

Why are the poor susceptible to clientelism, and what factors shield them from the influence of vote buying? We explore the role of both formal and informal social networks in shaping the likelihood of being targeted with private inducements. We argue that when the poor lack access to formal...

We present new evidence about the quantitative extent to which individual bureaucrats matter for public sector performance in a developing country context where the state is weak. We construct revenue district office-matched panel data for the Philippines that allow us to follow tax officers...