Affiliation:
1. College of International Trade Nanjing University of Finance and Economics Nanjing China
2. College of Fanhai International Finance Fudan University Shanghai China
Abstract
AbstractThis study examined the effect of local officials' political capital on poverty alleviation by using a manually compiled database of county party secretaries (CPSs) in impoverished counties in China. The empirical results reveal that CPSs with political capital positively affect poverty alleviation. Mechanism tests indicated that CPSs with political capital contribute to greater agricultural and financial development, attract more enterprise investment, and increase fiscal expenditure. The promotional effect of local officials' political capital on poverty alleviation was influenced by CPSs' characteristics (e.g., tenure, education level, and age) and was less pronounced during central government inspection and when the provincial government was less concerned about local officials' poverty alleviation. Our results suggest that local officials' political capital can alleviate poverty in emerging economies.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Subject
General Economics, Econometrics and Finance