Suffrage Extension and Political Selection

Dynamics of Democratization: Evidence from Municipal Suffrage Extensions

This paper investigates the dynamic consequences of franchise extension on future institutional change and local fiscal policy. Using a historical panel dataset of municipal governments with a franchise threshold partially based on income, we exploit exogenous variation in income to identify the causal effect of suffrage expansion on subsequent voting rights, politician salaries, and budget balances. We find that initial enfranchisement increases? the probability of future suffrage extensions, suggesting that democratization acts as a slippery slope?. Furthermore, we document significant fiscal responses to a broader electorate. Municipalities with wider suffrage exhibit (higher/lower) administrative salaries and (larger deficits/tighter fiscal discipline). These findings shed light on the endogenous evolution of political institutions and suggest that the economic effects of the franchise can be multifaceted.

• Joint work with Bram van Besouw.