Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jensen, NM; Malesky, E; Medina, M; Ozdemir, U
Published in: International Studies Quarterly
September 1, 2014

Both countries and subnational governments commonly engage in competition for mobile capital, offering generous incentives to attract investment. Existing economics research has suggested that these tax incentives have a limited ability to affect investment patterns and are often excessively costly when measured against the amount of investment and jobs created. In this paper, we argue instead that the "competition" for capital can be politically beneficial to incumbent politicians. Building off work on electoral pandering, we argue that incentives allow politicians to take credit for firms' investment decisions. We test the empirical implications of this theory using a nationwide Internet survey, which employs a randomized experiment to test how voters evaluate the performance of incumbent US governors. Our findings illustrate a critical political benefit of offering such incentives. Politicians can use these incentives to take credit for investment flowing into their districts and to minimize the political fallout when investors choose to locate elsewhere.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

International Studies Quarterly

DOI

EISSN

1468-2478

ISSN

0020-8833

Publication Date

September 1, 2014

Volume

58

Issue

3

Start / End Page

433 / 447

Related Subject Headings

  • International Relations
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1607 Social Work
  • 1606 Political Science
  • 1605 Policy and Administration
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Jensen, N. M., Malesky, E., Medina, M., & Ozdemir, U. (2014). Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment. International Studies Quarterly, 58(3), 433–447. https://doi.org/10.1111/isqu.12106
Jensen, N. M., E. Malesky, M. Medina, and U. Ozdemir. “Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment.” International Studies Quarterly 58, no. 3 (September 1, 2014): 433–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/isqu.12106.
Jensen NM, Malesky E, Medina M, Ozdemir U. Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment. International Studies Quarterly. 2014 Sep 1;58(3):433–47.
Jensen, N. M., et al. “Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment.” International Studies Quarterly, vol. 58, no. 3, Sept. 2014, pp. 433–47. Scopus, doi:10.1111/isqu.12106.
Jensen NM, Malesky E, Medina M, Ozdemir U. Pass the Bucks: Credit, Blame, and the Global Competition for Investment. International Studies Quarterly. 2014 Sep 1;58(3):433–447.
Journal cover image

Published In

International Studies Quarterly

DOI

EISSN

1468-2478

ISSN

0020-8833

Publication Date

September 1, 2014

Volume

58

Issue

3

Start / End Page

433 / 447

Related Subject Headings

  • International Relations
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1607 Social Work
  • 1606 Political Science
  • 1605 Policy and Administration