Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/30677 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 2693
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Using a new dataset of Swiss cantons from 1890 to 2000, we estimate the causal effect of direct democracy on government spending. Our analysis is novel in two ways: first, we use fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity; second, we combine a new instrument with fixed effects to address the potential endogeneity of institutional reform. We find that direct democracy has a constraining, but modest effect on spending. Our estimates suggest that a mandatory budget referendum reduces canton expenditures by 9 percent. A decline in the signature requirement for the voter initiative by one percent reduces spending by 2.2 percent. We find no evidence that direct democracy at the canton level results in higher local spending or a more decentralized government.
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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