Elite Structure and the Provision of Health-Promoting Public Goods Elite Structure and the Provision of Health-Promoting Public Goods
// NO.20-064 | 11/2020 DISCUSSION PAPER // TOMMY KRIEGER Elite Structure and the Provision of Health-Promoting Public Goods Elite structure and the provision of health-promoting public goods. Tommy Krieger1 October 29, 2020 Abstract We compile biographical information on more than 5,000 Prussian politicians and exploit newly digitized administrative data to examine whether landowning and landless elites differ in the extent to which they support health infrastructure projects. Using exogenous variation in soil texture, we present results from 2SLS regressions, suggesting that the provision of health-promoting public goods improves with the political influence of the landless elite. We also provide evidence for two mechanisms: first, landless elites face a higher risk of strikes, and second, they have more economic benefits from improving the health of the poor. Finally, we illustrate that the relevance of these two channels differs for those health-related public amenities that improve the access to medical care and those that prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases. Key words: biographical data, distribution of power, health, land inequality, landowners, local elites, political power, Prussian history, public good provision, redistribution JEL classifications: H11, H41, H75, I15, N33, O43, P16 Acknowledgements: I greatly benefited from discussions with Enzo Brox, Sebastian Blesse, Raphael Franck, Quentin Gallea, Lena Gerling, Kai Gehring, Klaus Gr¨undler, Erik Hornung, Pierre-Guillaume Meon, Luigi Pascali, Jochen Streb, Heinrich Urspung, and Maria Waldinger. I also received very helpful feedback when presenting this paper at the annual conference of the German Economic Association (Verein f¨ur Socialpolitik), the CESifo political economy workshop, the Silvaplana political economy workshop, the ifo lunchtime seminar, the PEDD workshop, the WEI-ZEW workshop, the University of Konstanz, and the University of Mannheim.
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