Social Media and the Behavior of Politicians: Evidence from Facebook in Brazil Pedro Bessone., Filipe Campante, Claudio Ferraz and Pedro CL Souza Abstract We study the relationship between the spread of social media platforms and the communication and responsiveness of politicians towards voters, in the context of the expansion of Facebook in Brazil. We […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 514, June 2017
Money and Politics: The Effects of Campaign Spending Limits on Political Competition and Incumbency Advantage Eric Avis, Claudio Ferraz, Frederico Finan, Carlos Varjão This paper examines the effects of campaign spending limits on political competition and incumbency advantage. We study a reform in Brazil that imposed limits on campaign spending for mayoral elections. These limits […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 567, October 2019
Voting for Quality? The Impact of School Performance Information on Electoral Outcomes Marina Dias, Claudio Ferraz Abstract We use data from polling stations and public primary schools to estimate the electoral effects of making school quality information available to voters. We exploit the introduction of a school-level accountability system in Brazil that provides, for the […]
BREAD Working Paper N0. 578, June 2020
Political Power, Elite Control, and Long-Run Development: Evidence from Brazil Claudio Ferraz, Frederico Finan, Monica Martinez-Bravo Abstract This paper analyzes how changes in the concentration of political power affect long-run development. We study Brazil’s military dictatorship whose rise to power dramatically altered the distribution of power of local political elites. We document that municipalities that […]