Manipulating the System: Clientelism and Criminality in Politics

Abstract

Why do criminally accused politicians win elections? Scholars theorize that voters may forgive criminal allegations when politicians are more effective in delivering state resources. This paper examines this theory with data from India’s largest rural workforce program. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that in constituencies where a criminally accused politician won, the project completion rate falls by about 50%, while the allocation of workdays increases by about 42%. Program funds in criminal constituencies are disproportionately allocated to labour, rather than materials. The results further show that the increase in work allocation is concentrated in constituencies where criminal politicians seek re-election. These findings suggest that criminally accused legislators strategically reallocate resources to the wage dimension of the program using distributive policy as a mechanism to consolidate political support.