Determinants of the assignment of E.U. funds to portuguese municipalities

• Author(s): Veiga, Linda Gonçalves
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/11715
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Fiscal federalism; Political economy; Portugal; EU funds; Local governments
• Document Type: Research paper
• Language: English

Description

The paper examines the determinants of the assignment of EU funds to Portuguese municipalities using a large and unexplored dataset covering all (278) mainland municipalities over fifteen years. Empirical results reveal that besides normative objectives, the national government also takes into account political motivations in the distribution of funds to municipalities. Grants increase during local election years, more funds are transferred to municipalities where the government party had higher percentages of votes, and where there are more swing voters.