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The Contemporary Presidency : Presidents Profiting from Disasters: Evidence of Presidential Distributive Politics
Author(s) -
Stramp Nicholas R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12069
Subject(s) - presidential system , politics , political science , presidency , public administration , power (physics) , government (linguistics) , state (computer science) , political economy , law , economics , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics
In what ways do presidents engage in distributive politics? I study the effects of presidential electoral politics on the federal government's financial response to disasters. Specifically I ask whether swing states or safe states are more likely to receive additional disaster aid through presidentially ordered increases in the federal reimbursement rate for specific disasters. I examine four potential political factors affecting this distribution: swing states versus safe states, a president's base states versus the opposing party's base states, the presence of co‐partisan presidents and governors, and the proximity of the next presidential election. I find that the effects vary by administration, with B ill C linton not appearing to make partisan decisions in this way, while his successors include these factors when making the decisions. These findings demonstrate the presence of partisan political calculations in the distribution of disaster aid and also highlight differences in the ways power is handled in different presidential administrations.