Journal Articles

Unstable Politics: Fiscal Space and Electoral Volatility in the Indian States

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What explains variations in electoral volatility? The authors argue that fiscal space—availability of financial resources to enact policy initiatives and provide public programs—possessed by governments can explain the level of electoral volatility. Where governments have fiscal space, citizens reward incumbent parties with their continued support. But when fiscal space is constrained, the incumbent government's ability to provide state resources is drastically reduced. Citizens are therefore less likely to reward the party at the polls and are available to opposition politicians and alternative appeals. Vote-switching ensues, and the incumbent government is voted out of the office. The authors test this argument and others in the existing literature on electoral returns from state assembly elections across 15 major Indian states from 1967 to 2004. The results support the argument that fiscal space influences electoral volatility

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Detail Information

Series Title

Comparative Political Studies

Call Number

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Publisher

California : Sage Publications., 2008

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0010-4140

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 41, No. 8, Page 1069-1091

Subject(s)

Electoral volatility
India
Fiscal Space
Party Politics
Unstable Politics

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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