Creating Cleavages: Distributive Politics and Electoral Alignment by Jiyoon Kim B.A. in Political Science Yonsei Univeristy, 1994 Master in Public Policy The University of California at Berkeley, 1997 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JUNE 2005 © 2005 Jiyoon Kim. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author: I J Department of Political Science April 4, 2005 ( Certifiedby: // Stephen D. Ansolabehere Professor of Political Science Thesis Supervisor Accepted by : Roger Peterson Professor of Political Science Chairman, Graduate Program Committee MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OCT 17 2005 ARCHIVES., LIBRARIES ·1BV, Creating Cleavages: Distributive Politics and Electoral Alignment By Jiyoon Kim Submitted to the Department of Political Science On April 4, 2005 in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Science in Political Science ABSTRACT Distributive politics plays an important role for political elites for their electoral goal. Since the resources that politicians can distribute are limited, they have to decide how to distribute them in order to maximize their utility. And region becomes one of the most important yardsticks. Politicians first distribute public goods where they are supported. Economically rational voters react to what they receive and cast votes for those who have brought most benefits to them. This establishes the relationship between politicians and voters in a region, and solidifies regional voting behavior further. Therefore, regional voting is the product of politician's strategic distributive politics and rational voters' behavior. Regionalism does not only arise from economic or social cleavages that we are able to observe, but they are also intentionally cultivated. There are numerous possible reasons why regionalism started in the first place. It could have been from ethnic cleavages, unequal economic development or historical and political events that occurred in the past. However, whether or not to breed regionalism is determined by how regionalism works for the political purpose. As in the case of Korea, regionalism has been the best political tool for political parties to decide where to focus for their electoral success. It has been used for the efficient redistribution and deepened the regional cleavage in Korea as a result. Therefore, it can be said that regionalism worked for political parties' electoral goals, which has been well received by electorates, who are interested in what they receive in return. In the second part of the dissertation, I question the claim that ethnically fragmented community is more likely to have poor fiscal policy. Scholars have raised many problems of this ethnically diversified society, and a lagged economic development and inefficient government spending are one of them. Many studies have speculated the negative effect of ethnic fragmentation on economies of scale. With a new study design, I show that previous studies on the relationship between ethnic fragmentation and provision of public goods and services can be misleading or be exaggerating the effect of ethnic diversification at most. Thesis Supervisor: Stephen D. Ansolabehere Title: Professor of Political Science 3 4 Acknowledgments It was a long journey. The journey started on one day of September in 1998, and is about to end. Of course, I know so well that a new one will start soon. It was not an easy road and I stumbled so many times during the journey. Sometimes it was exciting and fun, but there were other times that were pretty rocky, which made me feel like throwing a towel. Here, I would like to mention some of names whose support made me go through hard times to show my gratitude. Without these people, I would never have written this part of my thesis. First of all, I would like to thank my committee members. Prof. Stephen Ansolabehere, who is also my advisor, has always been there for me. Without his warm support and invaluable advices, it would have never been possible for me to finish my study at MIT. He did not just intellectually direct me as my advisor, but also cared about me in so many ways. With his office door opened, he never complained my unexpected visit with so many questions. Whenever I felt like giving up, he encouraged me with unbelievable patience. I would never know how to thank him. I also thank to Prof. James Snyder, who made me realize that being super-smart and being super-nice can coexist. He can never imagine how much I was intimidated by his intellect when I first met him. Soon, I realized that he was one of the sweetest guys I have ever met. Like Steve, I thank him so much for not having complained at all when I dropped by his office with silly questions without notice. He always welcomed me with a big smile and over-answered to my questions, which eventually brought me back to him again with more questions. Prof. Jonathan Rodden should be also mentioned here. He joined in the committee member last, but showed so many interests in my research. Jonathan always directed me to look at the question with various and interesting perspectives. His sincere care for my study and my personal well-being is much appreciated. I also have to say that I so much enjoyed the presence of his son, Nathaniel, in my defense, although he gave me incorrect information that babies are calm, quiet and very peaceful. I realized that it was completely wrong only after I had my own. I thank to Susan Twarog, our beloved graduate administrator. She not only helped me with administrative process, but also cared for me so much. Being apart from my family in Korea has never been easy for me. Susan has always been there for me just like my mother. I cannot thank her enough. My officemates have enriched my life at MIT. Amos Zehavi, Rachael Cobbs, Rachel Gisselquist, David Konisky, Boaz Atzili, and Michiko Ueda are only few of them. I cannot forget the time we shared in our no-window and depression-producing office. I also would like to thank to Brett Kubicek, Doug Fuller and Yutaka Kashiwabara for being there as my friends. In particular, the friendship that Doug and Yutaka showed me to fly over to attend my wedding should never be forgotten. Some of my Korean friends should be mentioned here, too. Sungeun Im, who is my best friend since my high school days, and Yoonjung Seo always encouraged me when I was in slump. I appreciate their friendship. I would never forget the times that I spent with Eunhwan Jeon when she was in the states for her own study. Also, I would like to thank to Wonhee Jeon, Soonjo Chung, Jinwook Lee, Kyounghee Yu, Jungho Roh, Hyunjoo Yang, Hyungjoo Kim, and Carol Kim. 5 I also would like to express my gratitude to my family-in-law. My uncle-in-law and aunt-in-law always supported my study. I thank to my father-in-law who showed me various aspects of life. Also, I thank to my mother-in-law for her caring for me while I was finishing my study. My brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, who showed encouragement, should be remembered. I send infinite gratitude to my family. Without their unconditional love and concern, it could never been possible for me to finish my study. My mother, who always sacrificed everything for me should receive the most gratitude. Her endless concern and support brought me self-confidence back. My father has been intellectual inspiration to me all the time. His interest in my research and recommendations enriched my thesis. Both my parents believed in me when I was in hard times, which should be much appreciated. I also thank to my sister. I admire her positive and optimistic spirit, and proud of her very much. Last, I would like to thank to my husband, Sanghyuk Park who is the sweetest and most understanding person that I have ever met. His love, concern, support and belief in me not only enriched my life, but also let me go through this whole process of Ph.d. Also, my newborn son, Adrian Jaewoo Park should receive my gratitude. Although he took part in delaying many things in completing the study, he brought tremendous joy to our lives. I love you. 6 Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 9 Chapter 2. Regionalism around the World 17 1. Introduction 17 2. Regionalism around the World 18 Canada 22 Spain 27 The United Kingdom 31 The United States 35 3. Conclusion 41 Chapter 3. Regionalism in Korea: How Powerful is it and Why Does it Exist? 63 1. Introduction 63 2. History of the Regional Parties in Korea 65 3. Theories of Korean Regionalism 73 4. Conclusion 78 Chapter 4. Korean Regionalism - Artifacts or Truth? 83 1. Introduction 83 2. Data and Methodology 86 3. Regression Result and Discussion 89 4. Generational Effect? 94 5. Conclusion 96 Chapter 5. Distributive Politics and Korean Regionalism 109 1. Introduction 109 2. Regional Voting in Korea and Distribution Theory 110 3. Data and Methodology 114 a. Descriptive Analysis 114 b. Regression Analysis 118 4. Conclusion 121 Chapter 6. Ethnic Division and Public Goods Revisited 131 1. Introduction 131 2. Literature Review in Ethnic Politics 132 3. Methodology and Data 136 4. Result and Discussion 141 5. Micro-data Analysis 145 6. Result and Discussion 149 7. Conclusion 151 Chapter 7. Conclusion 163 7 8 In its grand outlines the politics of the South revolves around the position of the Negro...