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The Impact of Representation Per Capita on the Distribution of Federal Spending and Income Taxes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2005

Tom A. Evans
Tom A. Evans
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
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Abstract

Abstract. A vote-maximizing incumbent government is expected to adjust discretionary spending and taxation in ways that increase its probability for re-election. Unequal voters per electoral district in Canada distort this calculation in favour of small electoral districts. Using two measures of federal expenditures, and one of income taxes, between the years 1961–2000, empirical estimates indicate that greater representation per capita (lower relative electoral district populations) results in higher federal spending, and lower income taxes, per capita, even after controlling for income and unemployment.

Résumé. Un gouvernement en place tentant de maximiser les votes en sa faveur est censé ajuster les dépenses discrétionnaires et les impôts de manière à augmenter la probabilité de sa réélection. L'inégalité du nombre d'électeurs des districts électoraux au Canada crée une distorsion en faveur des districts de petite taille. En utilisant deux mesures des dépenses fédérales et une mesure des impôts sur le revenu entre 1961 et 2000, nos résultats empiriques montrent qu'une plus forte représentation par habitant (plus petits districts électoraux) entraîne des dépenses fédérales plus importantes et des impôts sur le revenu moins élevés par personne, même en contrôlant pour le revenu et le taux de chômage.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , June 2005 , pp. 263 - 285
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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