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Partisan alignment and public policies provision in Brazil

Abstract

This research examines whether local governments politically aligned with the president’s party offer more public policies. The delivery of public services is one of the central activities of governments. Since the political parties control the executive branch in both federal and local government, it is reasonable to expect that their partisan and electoral interests will influence policy implementation. This study analyzes the coverage of primary healthcare as an indicator of policy delivery. Given the strong sharing of responsibilities among federated entities, I argue that the federal government implements public policies strategically, increasing the supply of services in partisan-aligned municipalities. To empirically test this relationship, I estimate the causal effect of alignment using a regression-discontinuity design for close elections. The results indicate that partisan-aligned municipalities have, on average, 3% higher coverage of primary healthcare than others governed by opposition parties. In a city with 10,000 inhabitants, for example, this would mean 300 more people receiving healthcare.

Keywords:
partisan alignment; public policies provision; primary healthcare coverage; healthcare

Resumo

Municípios partidariamente alinhados com o presidente ofertam mais políticas públicas? A entrega de serviços públicos é uma das atividades centrais dos governos. Uma vez que são os partidos políticos que controlam o Poder Executivo tanto no Governo Federal quanto no governo local, é razoável esperar que seus interesses partidários e eleitorais influenciem o curso da implementação de serviços. Neste artigo, analiso a cobertura da atenção básica à saúde como indicador de oferta. Dado o forte compartilhamento de responsabilidades entre os entes federados, argumento que o Governo Federal implementa políticas públicas de forma estratégica, aumentando a oferta de serviços em municípios partidariamente alinhados. Para testar empiricamente essa relação, estimo o efeito causal do alinhamento por meio de um desenho de regressão descontínua para eleições acirradas. Os resultados indicam que os municípios partidariamente alinhados com a Presidência da República têm cobertura da atenção básica à saúde, em média, 3% maior que outros governados por partidos oposicionistas. Em uma cidade com 10 mil habitantes, por exemplo, isso significaria 300 pessoas a mais sendo adequadamente atendidas por equipes de saúde.

Palavras-chave:
alinhamento partidário; implementação de políticas públicas; cobertura da atenção básica à saúde; saúde

Resumen

¿Los municipios alineados partidariamente con el presidente ofrecen más políticas públicas? La prestación de servicios públicos es una de las actividades centrales de los gobiernos. Dado que son los partidos políticos los que controlan el Poder Ejecutivo tanto en el Gobierno federal como en el local, es razonable esperar que sus intereses partidistas y electorales influyan en el curso de la implementación. En este artículo analizo la cobertura de la atención primaria de salud como indicador de provisión. Dada la fuerte compartición de responsabilidades entre las entidades federativas, argumento que el Gobierno federal implementa las políticas públicas de manera estratégica, aumentando la provisión de servicios en los municipios alineados partidariamente. Para probar empíricamente esta relación, estimo el efecto causal del alineamiento utilizando un diseño de regresión discontinua para elecciones reñidas. Los resultados indican que los municipios partidariamente alineados tienen, en promedio, una cobertura de atención primaria un 3% más alta que otros gobernados por partidos de oposición. En una ciudad de 10.000 habitantes, por ejemplo, esto significaría 300 personas más adecuadamente atendidas por los equipos de salud.

Palabras clave:
alineación partidaria; provisión de políticas públicas; cobertura de la atención primaria; salud

1. INTRODUCTION

Delivering on public policy is one of the main activities of democratic governments. As a means for voters to assess the performance of governments (Fearon, 1999Fearon, J. D. (1999). Electoral accountability and the control of politicians: selecting good types versus sanctioning poor performance. In A. Przeworski, S. C. Stokes, & B. Manin (Eds.), Democracy, accountability, and representation (pp. 55-97). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press . Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139175104.003
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; Manin, Przeworski, & Stokes, 1999Stokes, S. C. (1999). Political parties and democracy. Annual Review of Political Science, 2(1), 243-267. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.243
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), it becomes an important source of political legitimacy (Pierson, 1995Pierson, P. (1995). Fragmented welfare states: federal institutions and the development of social policy. Governance, 8(4), 449-478. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995.tb00223.x
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). With decentralizing reforms taking place from the 1980s onwards, the provision of public services has gradually become an activity administered by local governments (Falleti, 2005Falleti, T. G. (2005). A sequential theory of decentralization: latin american cases in comparative perspective. American Political Science Review, 99(3), 327-346. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055405051695
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, 2010Falleti, T. G. (2010). Decentralization and subnational politics in Latin America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press .). One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is the association between decentralization and stronger and more efficient social protection systems (Schneider, 2003Schneider, A. (2003). Decentralization: conceptualization and measurement. Studies in Comparative International Development, 38(3), 32-56. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686198
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; Sellers & Lidström, 2007Sellers, J. M., & Lidström, A. (2007). Decentralization, local government, and the welfare state. Governance, 20(4), 609-632. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2007.00374.x
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).

As a result, the volume of empirical work on the local provision of public policies is on the increase, with a considerable portion highlighting the large variation that exists at the subnational level (Giraudy & Pribble, 2020Giraudy, A., & Pribble, J. (2020). Territorial inequality in health service delivery: lessons from Latin America’s Federations. Latin American Politics and Society, 62(3), 19-43. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2020.5
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; Niedzwiecki, 2018Niedzwiecki, S. (2018). Uneven social policies: the politics of subnational variation in Latin America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.; Wampler, Sugiyama, & Touchton, 2019Wampler, B., Sugiyama, N. B., & Touchton, M. (2019). Democracy at work: pathways to well-being in Brazil. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108675949
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). The principal explanations for these results involve institutional design (Rogers, 2021Rogers, M. (2021). Federalism and the welfare state in Latin America. Regional and Federal Studies, 31(1), 163-184. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2020.1749841
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), the extent of state capacity (Ziblatt, 2008Ziblatt, D. (2008). Why some cities provide more public goods than others: a subnational comparison of the provision of public goods in German cities in 1912. Studies in Comparative International Development, 43(3-4), 273-289. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-008-9031-y
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) and the reproduction of regional economic inequalities (Rodrigues-Silveira, 2019Rodrigues-Silveira, R. (2019). Public policy provision from a subnational perspective: context, institutions and spatial inequality. Regional and Federal Studies, 29(2), 275-294. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2019.1566125
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).

In an attempt to minimize the negative effects of decentralization, several countries have invested powers in the central government to coordinate and supervise the activities of local governments in the implementation of policies (Obinger, Leibfried, & Castles, 2005Obinger, H., Leibfried, S., & Castles G., F. (2005). Federalism and the welfare state: new world and European experiences (Vol. 1). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.). This structure has increased the interdependence between levels of government, giving central-local relations great importance for the development of social policies (Arretche, 2010Arretche, M. (2010). Federalismo e igualdade territorial: uma contradição em termos? Dados, 53(3), 587-620. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582010000300003
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258201000...
; Pierson, 1995Pierson, P. (1995). Fragmented welfare states: federal institutions and the development of social policy. Governance, 8(4), 449-478. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995.tb00223.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995...
).

Studies that consider this aspect as an explanatory variable have for the most part analyzed the institutional mechanisms that guide intergovernmental relations, such as constitutional design and financial resource transfer systems (Abrucio, 2005Abrucio, F. L. (2005). A coordenação federativa no Brasil: a experiência do período FHC e os desafios do governo Lula. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24, 41-67. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-44782005000100005
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; Almeida, 2005Almeida, M. H. T. (2005). Recentralizando a federação? Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24, 29-40. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-44782005000100004
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-4478200500...
; Arretche, 2002aArretche, M. (2002a). Federalismo e relações intergovernamentais no Brasil: a reforma de programas sociais. Dados, 45(3), 431-458. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582002000300004
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). Equally important, but relatively less explored, are institutions’ actors and their interests (Pierson, 1995Pierson, P. (1995). Fragmented welfare states: federal institutions and the development of social policy. Governance, 8(4), 449-478. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995.tb00223.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995...
). Thus, I include myself in the debate that discusses the role of the main actors in democratic governments, namely, political parties (Keman, 2006Keman, H. (2006). Parties and government: features of governing in representative democracies. In R. S. Katz & W. Crotty (Eds.), Handbook of party politics(Chap. 15, p. 160-174). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing. Recuperado de https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781848608047
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608047...
). More specifically, I analyze the effect that partisan alignment between Federal and local government has on the delivery of health care services in municipalities.

As parties compete for votes at both the national and local levels, I expect to observe political direction in the implementation of public policies with a view to gaining electoral advantage over political opponents. I argue that the parties in the Federal Government implement policies strategically, increasing the offer of services in municipalities that are aligned to the president’s party.

Considering the case of Brazil, one of the strongest federal systems in the world (Stepan, 1999Stepan, A. C. (1999). Federalism and democracy: beyond the U.S. model. Journal of Democracy, 10(4), 19-34. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1999.0072
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), I empirically investigate this relationship through a quasi-experimental design: regression-discontinuity design for close elections. The results indicate that political direction in implementation does indeed exist. When a municipality is aligned, there is a 3% increase in primary health care coverage.

The article as it follows on from this introduction (the first section) is structured as follows: in the second section, I outline the debates about parties, public policy, and implementation. In the third section, I discuss the implementation of public policies. In the fourth section, I present my argument and hypothesis. In the fifth section, I explain the selection of the case and the Brazilian institutional context. In the sixth section, I present my research design and methodological choices. In the seventh section I present the results and a discussion of them. And in the eighth section, I make my final remarks.

2. THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES ON PUBLIC POLICIES

The relationship between political parties and public policies is one of the most central characteristics of democratic systems (Stokes, 1999Stokes, S. C. (1999). Political parties and democracy. Annual Review of Political Science, 2(1), 243-267. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.243
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci....
). One of the classic assumptions set forth in the literature is that political parties formulate such policies in order to win elections (Downs, 1999Downs, A. (1999). Uma teoria econômica da democracia. São Paulo, SP: Editora da Universidade de São Paulo.), and that there are two main reasons for this. Firstly, public administration is under the direct control of political parties (Hjern & Hull, 1982Hjern, B., & Hull, C. (1982). Implementation Research as Empirical Constitutionalism. European Journal of Political Research, 10(2), 105-115. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1982.tb00011.x
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). Therefore, government and party decisions are closely linked (Strøm & Müller, 1999Strøm, K. W., & Müller, W. C. (1999). Political parties and hard choices. In W. C. Müller & K. W. Strøm (Eds.), Policy, office, or votes? How political parties in Western Europe make hard decisions (pp. 1-35). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.). Secondly, both voters and candidates are interested in public policy, since it is an important component of electoral competition (Wittman, 1983Wittman, D. (1983). Candidate motivation: a synthesis of alternative theories. American Political Science Review, 77(1), 142-157. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.2307/1956016
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).

As rational agents, the behavior of competitive political parties can be divided into three categories: vote-seeking, office-seeking, and policy-seeking. According the first model, the central objective of the parties is the maximization of votes in an election. According to the second, it is to increase its control over political offices. According to the third, it is to maximize its influence on public policies (Strøm, 1990Strøm, K. W. (1990). A behavioral theory of competitive political parties. American Journal of Political Science, 34(2), 565-598. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.2307/2111461
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). Although analytically separate, votes have no intrinsic value for parties, being merely a means, in democratic societies, to be appointed to office and influence policies. In turn, controlling positions yields benefits to parties, such as extracting income and increasing power and prestige, since policies are public goods for all actors in the system, even for those that do not participate in government (Budge & Laver, 1986Budge, I., & Laver, M. (1986). Office seeking and policy pursuit in coalition theory. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 11(4), 485-506. Recuperado de https://www.jstor.org/stable/439930; Strøm, 1990Strøm, K. W. (1990). A behavioral theory of competitive political parties. American Journal of Political Science, 34(2), 565-598. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.2307/2111461
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).

These three dimensions are not mutually exclusive, and, in practice, no party will pursue only one of them (Wolinetz, 2002Wolinetz, S. B. (2002). Beyond the catch‐all party: approaches to the study of parties and party organization in contemporary democracies. In R. Gunther, J. R. Montero, & J. J. Linz (Eds.), Political parties: old concepts and new challenges (pp. 136-164). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1093/0199246742.003.0006
https://doi.org/10.1093/0199246742.003.0...
). Thus, political parties act as organizations with multiple objectives: valuing votes, valuing offices, and valuing policy (Schmidt, 1996Schmidt, M. G. (1996). When parties matter: a review of the possibilities and limits of partisan influence on public policy. European Journal of Political Research, 30(2), 155-183. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996.tb00673.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996...
). The importance of each varies according to their central motivation. In this article, I assume that the main interest of political parties is to maximize votes to control public office. To this end, policy is valued instrumentally, with parties choosing electorally profitable public policies, which consequently maximize their chances of winning elections (Strøm & Müller, 1999Strøm, K. W., & Müller, W. C. (1999). Political parties and hard choices. In W. C. Müller & K. W. Strøm (Eds.), Policy, office, or votes? How political parties in Western Europe make hard decisions (pp. 1-35). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.).

In contrast to the convergence school, which argued that parties were not important to explain the results of public policies, so-called ‘politics matters’ studies have started to argue that this relationship does indeed exist and, in fact, matters (Imbeau, Pétry, & Lamari, 2001Imbeau, L. M., Pétry, F., & Lamari, M. (2001). Left-right party ideology and government policies: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Political Research, 40(1), 1-29. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011889915999
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011889915999...
). Also known as “partisan theory,” this set of theories is based on the assumption that politics is a market in which politicians and governments deliver policy in exchange for political support. Thus, differences in the party composition of governments affect the adoption of policies, expenditure on them and outcomes (Schmidt, 1996Schmidt, M. G. (1996). When parties matter: a review of the possibilities and limits of partisan influence on public policy. European Journal of Political Research, 30(2), 155-183. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996.tb00673.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996...
). Studies have highlighted the effects of the ideological composition of governments on macroeconomic results (Alvarez, Garrett, & Lange, 1993Alvarez, R. M., Garrett, G., & Lange, P. (1993). Government partisanship, labor organization, and macroeconomic performance. American Political Science Review, 85(2), 539-556. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.2307/2938825
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; Hibbs, 1977Hibbs, D. A. (1977). Political parties and macroeconomic policy. American Political Science Review, 71(4), 1467-1487. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055400269712
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, 1992Kriner, D. L., & Reeves, A. (2012). The influence of federal spending on presidential elections. American Political Science Review, 106(2), 348-366. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000159
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), as well as expenditure and coverage of social policies (Allan & Scruggs, 2004Allan, J. P., & Scruggs, L. (2004). Political partisanship and welfare state reform in advanced industrial societies. American Journal of Political Science, 48(3), 496-512. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2004.00083.x
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; Castles, 2009Castles, F. G. (2009). What welfare states do: a disaggregated expenditure approach. Journal of Social Policy, 38(1), 45-62. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279408002547
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; Huber & Stephens, 2001Huber, E., & Stephens, J. D. (2001). Development and crisis of the welfare state: parties and policies in global markets. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press., 2012Huber, E., & Stephens, J. D. (2012). Democracy and the left: social policy and inequality in Latin America. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.; Pierson, 1996Pierson, P. (1996). The new politics of the welfare state. World Politics, 48(2), 143-179. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.1996.0004
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).

At the same time, an extensive literature points to the relationship between partisan alignment and maximization of local well-being (Golden & Min, 2013Golden, M., & Min, B. (2013). Distributive politics around the world. Annual Review of Political Science, 16, 73-99. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-052209-121553
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). Instead of treating this favoritism as a benevolent action on the part of the governing parties, their behavior is rather associated with an opportunistic strategy that is aimed at extracting income, gaining voters, maximizing chances of re-election and building political alliances (Arulampalam, Desgupta, Dhillon, & Dutta, 2009Arulampalam, W., Dasgupta, S., Dhillon, A., & Dutta, B. (2009). Electoral goals and center-state transfers: a theoretical model and empirical evidence from India. Journal of Development Economics, 88(1), 103-119. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.01.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.0...
; Brollo & Nannicini, 2012Brollo, F., & Nannicini, T. (2012). Tying your enemy’s hands in close races: the politics of federal transfers in Brazil. American Political Science Review, 106(4), 742-761. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000433
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).

The relationship that structures this behavior is simple. On the supply side, political authorities have electoral incentives that permeate decisions on the provision of public services that usually favor their allies (Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
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). On the demand side, voters see the delivery of more services as a sign of the local incumbent’s skill and competence, which increases their chances of voting for that candidate in subsequent elections (Bracco, Lockwood, Porcelli, & Redoano, 2015Bracco, E., Lockwood, B., Porcelli, F., & Redoano, M. (2015, março). Intergovernmental grants as signals and the alignment effect: theory and evidence. Journal of Public Economics, 123, 78-91. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.11.007
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.1...
). This combination makes central government parties strategically allocate resources to party-aligned subnational governments, given that greater performance at the local level increases the electoral chances of both the local and national incumbents (Arulampalam et al., 2009Arulampalam, W., Dasgupta, S., Dhillon, A., & Dutta, B. (2009). Electoral goals and center-state transfers: a theoretical model and empirical evidence from India. Journal of Development Economics, 88(1), 103-119. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.01.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2008.0...
; Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255...
; Fouirnaies & Mutlu-Eren, 2015Fouirnaies, A., & Mutlu-Eren, H. (2015). English bacon: copartisan bias in intergovernmental grant allocation in England. The Journal of Politics, 77(3), 805-817. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1086/681563
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).

In general, public policies provide a means for evaluating governments, since the level of well-being perceived by the electorate is a way of making inferences about incumbents (Fearon, 1999Fearon, J. D. (1999). Electoral accountability and the control of politicians: selecting good types versus sanctioning poor performance. In A. Przeworski, S. C. Stokes, & B. Manin (Eds.), Democracy, accountability, and representation (pp. 55-97). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press . Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139175104.003
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). This mechanism, known as retrospective voting, works as a means of vertical accountability (Berry & Howell, 2007Berry, C. R., & Howell, W. G. (2007). Accountability and local elections: rethinking retrospective voting. Journal of Politics, 69(3), 844-858. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00579.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007...
). The evidence indicates that voters reward parties that make good governments (Healy & Lenz, 2017Healy, A., & Lenz, G. S. (2017). Presidential voting and the local economy: evidence from two population-based data sets. Journal of Politics, 79(4), 1419-1432. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1086/692785
https://doi.org/10.1086/692785...
; Kriner & Reeves, 2012Kriner, D. L., & Reeves, A. (2012). The influence of federal spending on presidential elections. American Political Science Review, 106(2), 348-366. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000159
https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541200015...
; Lewis-beck & Stegmaier, 2000Lewis-beck, M. S., & Stegmaier, M. (2000). Economic determinants of electoral outcomes. Annual Review of Political Science, 3, 183-219. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.3.1.183
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; Peltzman, 1987Peltzman, S. (1987). Economic conditions and gubernatorial elections. The American Economic Review, 77(2), 293-297. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673x9502300104
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). In short, public policy lies at the heart of party competition (Stokes, 1999Stokes, S. C. (1999). Political parties and democracy. Annual Review of Political Science, 2(1), 243-267. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.243
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).

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC POLICIES

Within the public policy cycle, implementation is the stage in which governments mobilize effort, knowledge, and resources to transform decisions into practice (Howlett, Ramesh, & Perl, 2020Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Perl, A. (2020). Studying public policy: principles and processes (4a ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.). This definition is not unique in the literature but reflects the complexity of implementing a policy characterized by dynamic processes that involve different groups of actors in constant negotiation, bargaining, communication, and conflict (Schofield, 2001Schofield, J. (2001). Time for a revival? Public policy implementation: a review of the literature and an agenda for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 3(3), 245-263. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2370.00066
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).

Implementation is both a political and an administrative process, and it is very difficult to separate them. Normatively, in democratic systems, control over public policy should be exercised by agents whose power derives from their responsiveness to voters (Matland, 1995Matland, R. E. (1995). Synthesizing the implementation literature: the ambiguity-conflict model of policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(2), 145-174. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a037242
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). Thus, institutions and political actors promote results in terms of public policies (Hjern & Hull, 1982Hjern, B., & Hull, C. (1982). Implementation Research as Empirical Constitutionalism. European Journal of Political Research, 10(2), 105-115. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1982.tb00011.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1982...
).

During the 1970s and 1980s, studies on the subject were organized mainly on the basis of two theoretical currents, ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up.’ The first sees policy makers as the central actors, so that implementing agents have clear information and well-defined objectives. As a criticism of the rigidity of this process, the second stream emphasizes the bureaucrats who deliver the services and their interactions with the target audience (Matland, 1995Matland, R. E. (1995). Synthesizing the implementation literature: the ambiguity-conflict model of policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(2), 145-174. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a037242
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.j...
).

Despite being useful for understanding that the two perspectives play an important role, the subsequent debates have suggested an attempt at synthesis, through the mapping of implementation structures (Winter, 2003bWinter, S. (2003b). Implementation perspectives: status and reconsideration. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 212-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.). Thus, the most recent research in the area is characterized by the analysis of performance and its causes and consequences based on several theoretical matrices, as well as evaluation methodologies and standards (Winter, 2003aWinter, S. (2003a). Implementation: introduction. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 205-2011). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.).

The literature has identified several factors that influence the implementation of public policies, such as the characteristics of the program, the availability of financial resources, the organizational environment of the policy, power relations, the competence of the implementing bureaucracy, the coordination between the actors and intergovernmental relations (Hasenfeld & Brock, 1991Hasenfeld, Y., & Brock, T. (1991). Implementation of social policy revisited. Administration & Society, 22(4), 451-479. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/009539979102200404
https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399791022004...
; Hill & Hupe, 2002Hill, M., & Hupe, P. (2002). Implementing public policy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.; Hjern & Hull, 1982Hjern, B., & Hull, C. (1982). Implementation Research as Empirical Constitutionalism. European Journal of Political Research, 10(2), 105-115. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1982.tb00011.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1982...
; Howlett et al., 2020Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Perl, A. (2020). Studying public policy: principles and processes (4a ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.; Matland, 1995Matland, R. E. (1995). Synthesizing the implementation literature: the ambiguity-conflict model of policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(2), 145-174. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a037242
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.j...
).

Furthermore, recent Brazilian literature has been pointing to the importance of state capacities as mechanisms of coercion, the existence of laws and the bureaucratic and administrative body as influential factors in the results of public policies (Marenco, 2017Marenco, A. (2017). Burocracias profissionais ampliam capacidade estatal para implementar políticas? Governos, burocratas e legislação em municípios brasileiros. Dados, 60(4), 1025-1058. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/001152582017141
https://doi.org/10.1590/001152582017141...
; Pires & Gomide, 2016Pires, R. R. C., & Gomide, A. A. (2016). Governança e capacidades estatais: uma análise comparativa de programas federais. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24(58), 121-143. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-987316245806
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98731624580...
). The literature shows evidence that high capacities are associated with more product delivery and superior fiscal, educational and human development performance (Coelho, Guth, & Loureiro, 2020Coelho, R., Guth, F., & Loureiro, M. (2020). Capacidades governamentais municipais e desenvolvimento humano local no Brasil. Revista do Serviço Público, 71(4), 778-808. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.21874/rsp.v71i4.4524
https://doi.org/10.21874/rsp.v71i4.4524...
; Grin, Nascimento, Abrucio, & Fernandes, 2018Grin, E. J., Nascimento, A. B., Abrucio, F. L., & Fernandes, A. S. (2018). Sobre desconexões e hiatos: uma análise de capacidades estatais e finanças públicas em municípios brasileiros. Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania, 23(76), 312-336. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.12660/cgpc.v23n76.75417
https://doi.org/10.12660/cgpc.v23n76.754...
; Pires & Gomide, 2016; Segatto, Euclydes, & Abrucio, 2021Segatto, C. I., Euclydes, F. M., & Abrucio, F. (2021). Capacidades estatais e seus efeitos nas políticas municipais de educação. Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania, 26(84), e-81938. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.12660/cgpc.v26n84.81938
https://doi.org/10.12660/cgpc.v26n84.819...
).

Despite not theoretically using this analytical lens, since it would require investigations beyond the scope of this work, I focus the explanation on one of the aspects that are also part of this debate: intergovernmental relations (Grin, 2016Grin, E. J. (2016). Rotas federativas para a promoção de capacidades estatais municipais: uma análise da experiência brasileira(Tese de Doutorado). Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo, SP.; Macedo & Ferreira, 2020Macedo, A. S., & Ferreira, M. A. M. (2020). Arranjo institucional e a capacidade estatal de implementação do Projeto Mais Médicos Brasil (PMMB). Revista de Sociologia e Política, 28(76), e008. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-987320287608
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98732028760...
). Three reasons justify this choice. Firstly, multi-organizational implementation is practically the rule, especially when dealing with complex problems and political systems with shared authority (O’Toole, 1986O’Toole, L. J. (1986). Policy recommendations for multi-actor implementation: an assessment of the field. Journal of Public Policy, 6(2), 181-210. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X00006486
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X0000648...
). Secondly, different levels of government are often involved in implementing the same policy, which demands greater coordination capacity (Howlett et al., 2020Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Perl, A. (2020). Studying public policy: principles and processes (4a ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.). Thirdly, the interdependence between governments affects how local implementing agents receive financial and informational resources from the center, with the latter acting to control policy execution (Van Meter & Van Horn, 1975Van Meter, D. S., & Van Horn, C. E. (1975). The policy implementation process: a conceptual framework. Administration & Society, 6(4), 445-488. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/009539977500600404
https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399775006004...
).

The empirical analyzes on implementation had a very strong focus on case studies, listing problems, barriers, and implementation failures (Barrett, 2004Barrett, S. M. (2004). Implementation studies: time for a revival? Personal reflections on 20 years of implementation studies. Public Administration, 82(2), 249-262. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-3298.2004.00393.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-3298.2004...
; Winter, 2003bWinter, S. (2003b). Implementation perspectives: status and reconsideration. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 212-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.), which generated an analytical bias (Lima & D’Ascenzi, 2013Lima, L. L., & D’Ascenzi, L. (2013). Implementação de políticas públicas: perspectivas analíticas. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 21(48), 101-110. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-44782013000400006
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-4478201300...
). Besides it being unrealistic to believe that a program will be implemented entirely according to the design and means foreseen by its formulators (Arretche, 2001Arretche, M. (2001). Uma contribuição para fazermos avaliações menos ingênuas. In M. C. R. N. Barreira, & M. C. B. Carvalho(Eds.), Tendências e perspectivas na avaliação de políticas e programas sociais(p. 43-56). São Paulo, SP: IEE/PUC-SP.), little information about the performance of such policies can be obtained based on this choice (Winter, 2003bWinter, S. (2003b). Implementation perspectives: status and reconsideration. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 212-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.).

To overcome this problem, the literature suggests two actions. The first, focused on the empirical strategy, is to reduce the number of variables to those considered critical, increase the number of cases, and introduce control elements to make the base similar and comparable (Goggin, 1986Goggin, M. L. (1986). The “too few cases/too many variables” problem in implementation research. Western Political Quarterly, 39(2), 328-347. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/106591298603900210
https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912986039002...
). The second, focused on the object, is to evaluate the policy outputs, i.e., the services being delivered to the population (Rossi, Lipsey, & Freeman, 2004Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: a systematic approach (7a ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing.; Winter, 2003bWinter, S. (2003b). Implementation perspectives: status and reconsideration. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration (pp. 212-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.). Therefore, implementation research is more informative according to the evaluation and with parsimony (Winter, 2003b).

4. ARGUMENT AND HYPOTHESIS

The centrality of public policies in the process of electoral competition makes them a valuable arsenal of political legitimacy (Pierson, 1995Pierson, P. (1995). Fragmented welfare states: federal institutions and the development of social policy. Governance, 8(4), 449-478. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995.tb00223.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995...
). Therefore, with an eye on the potential electoral benefits that parties can obtain from its execution, central government authorities tend to favor political allies in subnational governments (Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255...
). The motivation for this is relatively simple: the performance of parties at the local level influences national election results, acting as a reverse coattail effect (Ventura, 2021Ventura, T. (2021, fevereiro). Do mayors matter? Reverse coattails on congressional elections in Brazil. Electoral Studies, 69, 102242. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102242
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020...
).

Based on this, I argue that the parties in the Federal Government implement public policies in a strategic way, increasing the offer of services in municipalities that are aligned to the president’s party. By politically directing policy implementation, the incumbent party seeks to improve its evaluation by the electorate, which will increase its performance in subsequent elections. Therefore, the hypothesis of this article is:

• H: partisan alignment between president and mayors increases the delivery of public policies.

5. CASE SELECTION AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

The case chosen to empirically study the relationship proposed here is Brazil, considered one of the strongest federalisms in the world (Stepan, 1999Stepan, A. C. (1999). Federalism and democracy: beyond the U.S. model. Journal of Democracy, 10(4), 19-34. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1999.0072
https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1999.0072...
). The Federal Constitution of 1988 established common competences for the Union, states, and municipalities in several areas of social policies, including health, education, social assistance and culture, among others (Almeida, 2005Almeida, M. H. T. (2005). Recentralizando a federação? Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24, 29-40. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-44782005000100004
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-4478200500...
). At the same time, it has increased sources of revenue for subnational governments without clear spending responsibilities (Eaton & Dickovick, 2004Eaton, K., & Dickovick, J. T. (2004). The politics of re-centralization in Argentina and Brazil. Latin American Research Review, 39(1), 90-122. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1353/lar.2004.0007
https://doi.org/10.1353/lar.2004.0007...
). The combination of growth in spending and little discipline accentuated the fiscal crisis and allowed central government elites to justify federal regulatory measures as a matter of urgency for the Brazilian State (Arretche, 2009Arretche, M. (2009). Continuidades e descontinuidades da Federação Brasileira: de como 1988 facilitou 1995. Dados, 52(2), 377-423. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582009000200004
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258200900...
).

The reforms in federal relations, which took place mainly from 1995 onwards, continued the sectoral decentralization process, but linked it to the strengthening of control exercised by the federal level (Melo, 2005Melo, M. A. (2005). O sucesso inesperado das reformas de segunda geração: federalismo, reformas constitucionais e política social. Dados, 48(4), 845-889. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582005000400004
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258200500...
). As a result, federal laws began to regulate the powers of taxation, spending and the implementation of public policies of states and municipalities (Arretche, 2009Arretche, M. (2009). Continuidades e descontinuidades da Federação Brasileira: de como 1988 facilitou 1995. Dados, 52(2), 377-423. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582009000200004
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258200900...
). Such reforms did not encounter obstacles, since the new rules presented an incentive structure that made them attractive to subnational governments (Arretche, 2002a)Arretche, M. (2002a). Federalismo e relações intergovernamentais no Brasil: a reforma de programas sociais. Dados, 45(3), 431-458. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582002000300004
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258200200...
.

This “recentralization” process resulted in an increase in federal coordination mechanisms, constitutionalization of intergovernmental transfers and standardization of guidelines for states and municipalities (Abrucio, 2005Abrucio, F. L. (2005). A coordenação federativa no Brasil: a experiência do período FHC e os desafios do governo Lula. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 24, 41-67. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-44782005000100005
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-4478200500...
; Arretche, 2004Arretche, M. (2004). Federalismo e políticas sociais no Brasil: problemas de coordenação e autonomia. São Paulo em Perspectiva, 18(2), 17-26. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-88392004000200003
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-8839200400...
). Thus, the Federal Government monopolized policy decision-making, while policy-making, i.e., the responsibility for executing policy, became the responsibility of subnational governments (Arretche, 2010Arretche, M. (2010). Federalismo e igualdade territorial: uma contradição em termos? Dados, 53(3), 587-620. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-52582010000300003
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0011-5258201000...
).

In addition, I chose to analyze a public health policy, more specifically, primary health care in Brazilian municipalities. Three reasons justify this choice. Firstly, health has been, over the years, one of the areas in which the country has invested the most, especially when considering the federal budget (Vieira, Servo, Benevides, Piola, & Orair, 2020Vieira, F. S., Servo, L. M. S., Benevides, R. P. S., Piola, S. F., & Orair, R. O. (2020, setembro). Gastos em saúde e educação no brasil: impactos da unificação dos pisos constitucionais (Texto para Discussão, 2596). Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada.). Secondly, it is the most universal public policy, as it can be - and is - used by citizens of all age groups. Thirdly, it is an important measure of well-being (Touchton, Sugiyama, & Wampler, 2017Touchton, M., Sugiyama, N. B., & Wampler, B. (2017). Democracy at work: moving beyond elections to improve well-being. American Political Science Review, 111(1), 68-82. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541600068X
https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541600068...
), as it has an impact on human development, school results, and individuals’ incomes (Banerjee & Duflo, 2011Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2011). Poor economics: a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty (2a ed.). New York, NY: PublicAffairs.).

6. RESEARCH DESIGN

To operationalize the offer of public policies, I selected the primary health care coverage variable, available on the Ministry of Health’s Primary Care Information and Management portal. The coverage rate is calculated based on the percentage of the municipality’s population covered by Family Health Strategy (Estratégia Saúde da Família) teams and equivalent traditional basic health care teams in relation to the population estimate.1 1 For more details, see the note on methodology of the Ministry of Health. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3DM0mVl

In order to estimate the causal effect of partisan alignment, I adopted a regression-discontinuity design for close elections (Lee, Moretti, & Butler, 2004Lee, D. S., Moretti, E., & Butler, M. J. (2004). Do voters affect or elect policies? Evidence from the U. S. House. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 119(3), 807-859. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1162/0033553041502153
https://doi.org/10.1162/0033553041502153...
). This technique has been used by studies that investigate alignment as a type of treatment (Brollo & Nannicini, 2012Brollo, F., & Nannicini, T. (2012). Tying your enemy’s hands in close races: the politics of federal transfers in Brazil. American Political Science Review, 106(4), 742-761. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000433
https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541200043...
; Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255...
; Meireles, 2019Meireles, F. (2019). Alinhamento partidário e demanda por transferências federais no Brasil. Revista de Administração Pública, 53(1), 173-194. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-761220170282
https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-76122017028...
). Here, the comparison is made between municipalities that elected a mayor aligned with the Federal Government (which forms the treatment group) and others that elected political opponents (the control group) by a very small margin of votes. In such cases, we can assume that the election was decided by chance and that the formation of the treatment or the control group is the result of a distribution as if it were random.

Following the procedures of previous works (Brollo & Nannicini, 2012Brollo, F., & Nannicini, T. (2012). Tying your enemy’s hands in close races: the politics of federal transfers in Brazil. American Political Science Review, 106(4), 742-761. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000433
https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541200043...
; Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255...
; Meireles, 2019Meireles, F. (2019). Alinhamento partidário e demanda por transferências federais no Brasil. Revista de Administração Pública, 53(1), 173-194. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-761220170282
https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-76122017028...
), I only selected municipalities that, in the previous local election, had two or three mayoral candidates, one of which was affiliated with the same party as the president. Elections in which there was a tie between the first and second places were discarded, since, in these cases, the oldest candidate is elected. In cases where there was a second round, only this election was used. From a total of 45,806 available observations, the final sample totals 4,401 cases in which one of the candidates is aligned with the President of the Republic. The time frame 2009-2017 was chosen due to the availability and comparability of the dependent variable and covariates.

The estimate was obtained based on the model proposed by Calonico, Cattaneo, and Titiunik (2014Calonico, S., Cattaneo, M. D., & Titiunik, R. (2014). Robust nonparametric confidence intervals for regression-discontinuity designs. Econometrica, 82(6), 2295-2326. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA11757
https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA11757...
), which combines local linear regression with automatic selection of observations whose winning margins are small enough to be considered random. This procedure applies a greater weight to observations that are very close to the cutoff point, and less weight as the margin of victory increases.

For the design to be valid, it must meet the assumption of continuity around the cutoff point, that is, in this case, that candidates cannot determine their own votes in close elections. The available evidence indicates that this assumption is met in the Brazilian case (Eggers, Fowler, Hainmueller, Hall, & Snyder, 2015Eggers, A. C., Fowler, A., Hainmueller, J., Hall, A. B., & Snyder, J. M. (2015). On the validity of the regression discontinuity design for estimating electoral effects: new evidence from over 40,000 close races. American Journal of Political Science, 59(1), 259-274. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12127
https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12127...
). For my dataset, I performed the density test proposed by McCrary (2008McCrary, J. (2008). Manipulation of the running variable in the regression discontinuity design: a density test. Journal of Econometrics, 142(2), 698-714. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.05.005
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.0...
) to confirm proper use of the design. In addition, I used observational and placebo sensitivity tests for alternative cutoffs. All procedures mentioned are set out in Graphs 3, 4, and 5 of the Appendix.

Finally, to ensure that the observations close to the cutoff point are, on average, similar in terms of possible confounding variables (Dunning, 2012Dunning, T. (2012). Natural experiments in the social sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139084444
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139084444...
), I performed the balancing of covariates using the T test to compare means. The results, presented in Graph 6, in the Appendix, indicate that observations very close to the cutoff point (in the ranges -0.1 to 0.1 and -0.5 to 0.5) have statistically similar means (p > 0. 05) on five characteristics: demographic (resident population of the municipality - Source: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE]), fiscal (total constitutional transfers and own IPTU collection - Sources: National Treasury and National Treasury Secretariat [STN]) and administrative (total municipal servants and proportion of statutory servants - Source: IBGE).

7. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Observing the evolution of the average percentage of primary health care coverage over time, in Graph 1, some differences are clear. First, the average coverage in Brazilian municipalities went from just over 85% in 2009 to an average of 91% in 2017. Despite the upward trend, there was a decline between 2016 and 2017. When disaggregated by partisan alignment with the president, the data indicate that coverage in non-aligned municipalities follows, in an almost parallel fashion, the joint trend.

Graph 1
Evolution of the average percentage of primary health care coverage

Despite being relatively smaller over the time series, coverage in party-aligned municipalities presents a curious pattern. The slope of the line is considerably greater, i.e., the expansion of the health offer in these locations happened more quickly. It is interesting to note that, in the 2015-2016 period, both the national average and that of non-aligned municipalities remained practically stable, while that of aligned municipalities followed a strong growth trend until it surpassed the two straight lines. These descriptive data should be viewed with caution, as the observations are very unevenly numbered: 5,468 aligned (11.94% of the total sample) and 40,338 (88.06%).

From the territorial point of view, as can be seen in Map 1, virtually all regions show great variation in the percentages of primary health care coverage in 2009. In the last year of the sample, the expansion of assistance meant a reduction in inequalities between municipalities. All regions now show darker colors on the map, which indicates greater coverage of primary health care.

Map 1
Coverage in Brazilian territory in 2009 and 2017

Graph 1and Map 1 above provide a better understanding of the process of expansion of basic health services in Brazil. Despite the evolution observed over the years, there is still uneven coverage among municipalities. Is it possible, then, that partisan alignment between presidents and mayors results in a greater supply of health services? The answer is yes.

Graph 2
Estimation of regression-discontinuity design

In Graph 2, I present the result of the RDD. The local estimate demonstrates a causal effect of, on average, 3%. That is, municipalities aligned with the president have around 3% more of the population covered by basic health care. Thinking about a municipality with 10,000 inhabitants, for example, this would mean 300 more people being adequately served by health teams. Table 1 shows the estimates of the conventional, bias correction and robust models, the last of which is, by default, the main model. All estimates show the existence of a statistically significant causal effect (p < 0.05).

Table 1
Model estimates

The direct link between the Federal Government and municipalities is the result of the process of municipalization of primary health care through strong federal regulation (Vazquez, 2014Vazquez, D. A. (2014). Mecanismos institucionais de regulação federal e seus resultados nas políticas de educação e saúde. Dados, 57(4), 969-1005. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/00115258201430
https://doi.org/10.1590/00115258201430...
). As local governments joined the Unified Health System (SUS), they became more dependent on the Federal Government, both from a fiscal point of view and in terms of operational guidelines (Viana & Machado, 2009Viana, A. L., & Machado, C. V. (2009). Descentralização e coordenação federativa: a experiência brasileira na saúde. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 14(3), 807-817. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232009000300016
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8123200900...
). Therefore, the transfer of responsibility for basic health management to municipalities reorganized relations between federative entities (Arretche, 2002bArretche, M. (2002b). Relações federativas nas políticas sociais. Educação & Sociedade, 23(80), 25-48. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1590/s0101-73302002008000003
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0101-7330200200...
, 2002a).

The observed alignment effect is produced through two mechanisms, characterized as policy instruments, which are the means available to directly affect the nature, type, quantity and distribution of goods and services (Howlett, 2000Howlett, M. (2000). Managing the “hollow state”: procedural policy instruments and modern governance. Canadian Public Administration, 43(4), 412-431. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-7121.2000.tb01152.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-7121.2000...
). These are classified into three types: regulatory, economic, and informational. Economic mechanisms comprise the distribution or withdrawal of resources, such as cash transfers or benefits, but may also be of a non-monetary nature. Informational mechanisms are the dissemination of knowledge, recommendations, and guidelines, with the aim of influencing other actors (Vedung, 1998Vedung, E. (1998). Policy instruments: typologies and theories. In M. L. Bemelmans-Videc ,R. Rist, & E. Vedung (Eds.), Carrots, sticks & sermons: policy instruments & their evaluation(pp. 282-319). Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.). Since the rules are the same for all subnational governments, the parties will manipulate the distribution of the last two.

With regard to economic matters, the central government increases the volume of discretionary resources for the aligned municipalities (Bracco et al., 2015Bracco, E., Lockwood, B., Porcelli, F., & Redoano, M. (2015, março). Intergovernmental grants as signals and the alignment effect: theory and evidence. Journal of Public Economics, 123, 78-91. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.11.007
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.1...
; Brollo & Nannicini, 2012Brollo, F., & Nannicini, T. (2012). Tying your enemy’s hands in close races: the politics of federal transfers in Brazil. American Political Science Review, 106(4), 742-761. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055412000433
https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541200043...
; Bugarin & Marciniuk, 2017Bugarin, M., & Marciniuk, F. (2017). Strategic partisan transfers in a fiscal federation: evidence from a new Brazilian database. Journal of Applied Economics, 20(2), 211-239. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1016/S1514-0326(17)30010-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1514-0326(17)30...
; Fouirnaies & Mutlu-Eren, 2015Fouirnaies, A., & Mutlu-Eren, H. (2015). English bacon: copartisan bias in intergovernmental grant allocation in England. The Journal of Politics, 77(3), 805-817. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1086/681563
https://doi.org/10.1086/681563...
). Given that these resources are associated with the provision of public goods and services (Bueno, 2017Bueno, N. S. (2017). Bypassing the enemy: distributive politics, credit claiming, and nonstate organizations in Brazil. Comparative Political Studies, 51(3), 304-340. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710255...
), it is natural to expect that this increase in the municipal budget, in addition to constitutional transfers, will contribute to the expansion of supply.

With regard to the provision of information, parties facilitate coordination and the flow of information between levels of government (Bolleyer, 2011Bolleyer, N. (2011). The influence of political parties on policy coordination. Governance, 24(3), 469-494. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2011.01531.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2011...
). This happens because of the sharing of structures (Thorlakson, 2009Thorlakson, L. (2009). Patterns of party integration, influence and autonomy in seven federations. Party Politics, 15(2), 157-177. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808099979
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808099979...
). National parties, therefore, establish operational guidelines for their parties at the local level (Van Houten, 2009Van Houten, P. (2009). Multi-level relations in political parties: a delegation approach. Party Politics, 15(2), 137-156. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808099978
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068808099978...
), delivering information regarding the production of public policies (Saglie, 2019Saglie, J. (2019). Do party organizations integrate multi-level states? The case of the Norwegian local government reform. Regional and Federal Studies, 30(4), 579-597. Recuperado de https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2019.1684268
https://doi.org/10.1080/13597566.2019.16...
). Thus, the parties make resources available and guide their use so that mayors aligned with the Federal Government offer more services.

8. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

In this work, I have analyzed the relationship between partisan alignment and the provision of public policies. In so doing, I sought to bring evidence to the substantive results of party-political activity, which is relatively little studied in the literature. The delivery of public services, such as the coverage of basic health care as explored here, is the final point in a chain of decisions taken by elected public agents and which affect the daily lives of a large part of the population.

The distribution of goods and services based on party and electoral incentives to which these actors respond has practical consequences: the production of inequalities in implementation, since the available resources are limited, since allocating in a way that favors some groups means harming others. Evidently, I do not believe that there is unrestricted control over its distribution, since there are legally defined rules for this. However, the literature cites considerable evidence of political direction where there is room to exercise discretion.

Even with a voluminous set of data and robust techniques, it is incumbent on me to mention some of the limitations of this study. Firstly, the fact that the study considered a period of less than a decade may restrict its explanatory power. Secondly, regression-discontinuity designs offer only a local explanation. That is, it is possible to make inferences only for observations close to the cutoff point, which does not allow for investigation into and understanding of what supply patterns exist in municipalities where the aligned candidate won by a large margin of victory. Cases like these are important to understand the behavior of individuals in government who are not constrained by strong electoral competition.

It is necessary to answer several questions so that a more expressive set of empirical evidence can be brought to bear on the relationship between party politics and the implementation of public policies. Investigating causal mechanisms more systematically is one of the first steps. Although much is said about intergovernmental coordination, little is known about how this happens in the daily activities of governments. Who are the most relevant actors? How often do they interact? What is the role of political parties, bureaucracy, and the relationship between them? These are just some of the points needed to theoretically and empirically develop this theme.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for my doctoral scholarship, Mariana Batista for her comments on previous versions, and the anonymous reviewers of RAP. Any remaining errors or inaccuracies are my sole responsibility.

APPENDIX

Graph 3
Density around THE cutoff point and McCrary test

Graph 4
Sensitivity to observations tests

Graph 5
Placebo outcome tests

Graph 6
Covariates balance

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  • 1
    For more details, see the note on methodology of the Ministry of Health. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3DM0mVl
  • [Translated version] Note: All quotes in English translated by this article’s translator.

Reviewers:

  • Valéria de Oliveira Lemos Novato (Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia / GO - Brazil) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-8736
  • Two of the reviewers did not authorize the disclosure of their identities.
  • Peer review report:

    The peer review report is available at this URL. https://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/ojs/index.php/rap/article/view/88611/83344https://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/ojs/index.php/rap/article/view/88611/83344

Edited by

Editor-in-chief: Alketa Peci (Fundação Getulio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro / RJ - Brazil) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0488-1744
Associate editor: Sandro Cabral (Insper Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, São Paulo / SP - Brazil) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8663-2441

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    20 Mar 2023
  • Date of issue
    Jan-Feb 2023

History

  • Received
    28 Apr 2022
  • Accepted
    19 Dec 2022
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